Decorticate Posture: Causes, Symptoms & Emergency Care

Decorticate posture is a symptom of a serious neurological disorder. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the conditions related to decorticate posture require immediate emergency medical treatment.

Symptoms

• Decorticate posture is characterized by rigid, extended legs, flexed feet and arms that are bent inward toward the body. The wrists and fingers are bent and held to the chest and the fists are clenched. This condition sometimes alternates with decerebrate posture, a condition where the arms and legs are held out, the muscles are rigidly clenched and the neck and head are arched back.

Causes

• Decorticate posture is often caused by a brain tumor. It can also be caused by stroke, which is a condition that occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, or by a bacterial or fungal infection inside the brain. Other conditions include encephalopathy, brain hemorrhage and head injury.

Care and Diagnosis

• Health Central indicates that emergency treatment begins with prompt hospitalization in intensive care. Diagnostic testing includes magnetic resonance imaging, or MRIs, of the head and brain, computed tomography, or CT, scans and intracranial pressure monitoring to determine the cause of the problem. Treatment varies depending upon the condition.