• Rajdeep Kanwar, Bronson E Delasobera, Korin Hudson, and William Frohna.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, MedStar Georgetown University/Washington Hospital Center Emergency Medicine Residency, 110 Irving Street Northwest, NA-1177, Washington, DC 20010, USA. Electronic address: rajdeep.s.kanwar@gmail.com.
• Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. 2015 May 1; 33 (2): 241-82.

AbstractMost spinal cord injuries involve the cervical spine, highlighting the importance of recognition and proper management by emergency physicians. Initial cervical spine injury management should follow the ABCDE (airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure) procedure detailed by Advanced Trauma Life Support. NEXUS (National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study) criteria and Canadian C-spine Rule are clinical decision-making tools providing guidelines of when to obtain imaging. Computed tomography scans are the preferred initial imaging modality. Consider administering intravenous methylprednisolone after discussion with the neurosurgical consultant in patients who present with spinal cord injuries within 8 hours. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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