• Mustafa Kaya, Davut Ceylan, Tibet Kaçıra, Emrah Keskin, Yıldıray Çelenk, Ezel Yaltırık Bilgin, and Özlem Kıtıki Kaçıra.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, Sakarya-Türkiye.
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2022 Jul 1; 28 (7): 9971007997-1007.

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to contribute to the literature by determining the morphometric reference values of the bony structures in the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) from computer tomography (CT) images of the pediatric age group.MethodsIn this study, CT's of 151 simple trauma patients aged between 3 and 15 years between 2016 and 2020 were evaluated. All CT examinations were performed using a 32-slice CT and included images of the skull base and C1-C2 junction. A total of 10 measurements were obtained from these images, including Wachenheim clivus canal angle (WCA), Welcher basal angle (WBA), Cran-iocervical tilt angle (CCT), power ratio (PR), Atlantodens interval, McRae Line (MRL), McRae - Dens distance, basion-dens interval (BDI), basion-axis interval (BAI), and atlantooccipital measurement (AOM).ResultsIn comparison between gender groups, MRL (p=0.011) and AOM (p<0.001) measurements were found to be significantly higher in males. McRae-Dens distance, BDI, and AOM were significantly higher in patients aged 3-9 years (respectively, p=0005, p=0.003, p<0.001), and BAI (p=0.001) was significantly higher in patients aged 10-15 years. The McRae - Dens distance (p=0.119) was similar between patients with and without terminal ossicle in odontoid apex. But BDI of patients without terminal ossicle was significantly higher (p=0.048). All parameters, except the WCA, WBA, CCT, and PR, were statistically significantly correlated with the patient age (respectively, p=0.21, p=0.13, p=0.70, p=0.99).ConclusionIn this study, the morphometric reference values of the bone structures at the CVJ were determined from the CT images of the pediatric age group.

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