Prevalence of cervical ribs and elongated transverse processes in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE To describe the prevalence of the full spectrum of transverse process elongation and cervical ribs for the first time in over a decade in a Saudi population, trying to assess any changes in the interim. METHODS A cross-sectional hospital based study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in the 3-month period between October and December 2010. The study comprised a radiologic review of 1,000 consecutive chest radiographs of adults from the digital database looking for the presence of cervical ribs and elongated transverse processes. RESULTS Our study showed that cervical ribs are present in 3.4% of our population; a female to male ratio was 2.01 to 1. They were bilateral in 41% of those afflicted individuals. Elongated transverse processes were present in 23%. CONCLUSION The prevalence of cervical ribs and elongated transverse processes in our population is higher than that reported in other populations. It also shows an interim increase in prevalence when compared with a previous study on our population more than a decade back.