Videos
Chvostek sign
Demonstration of Chvostek sign: twitching of the ipsilateral facial muscles in reponse to tapping the face anteriorly to the ear and below the zygomatic bone.
This video demonstrates Chvostek sign in a 53-year-old who presented two weeks after near total thyroidectomy for obstructive nodular goitre. Chvostek sign is traditionally elicited by tapping on the face at a point just anterior to the ear and below the zygomatic bone. A positive response is represented by twitching of the ipsilateral facial muscles, suggesting neuromuscular excitability. Although previously linked to hypocalcemia, Chvostek sign is now considered poorly sensitive and specific of hypocalcemia.