Home Care:

A person who develops opisthotonos will need to be cared for in a hospital.

Call your health care provider if:

Go to the emergency room or call your local emergency number (such as 911) if this symptom occurs. Typically opisthotonos is a symptom of other conditions that are serious enough for a person to seek medical attention.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

This condition will be evaluated in a hospital, and emergency measures may be taken.

The health care provider will take a medical history and perform a physical examination to look for the cause of opisthotonos

Medical history questions may include:

• When did this behavior start?
• Is it always the same type of posturing?
• What other symptoms came before or with the abnormal posturing (such as fever, stiff neck, or headache)?
• Is there any recent history of illness?

The physical examination will include a complete check of the nervous system.

Tests may include:

• Blood and urine tests
• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and cell counts
• CT scan of the head
• Electrolyte analysis
• Lumbar puncture (spinal tap)
• MRI of the brain