• Holger Meinig, Stefan Matschke, Michael Ruf, Tobias Pitzen, Alexander Disch, Jan-Sven Jarvers, Christian Herren, Thomas Weiß, Matthias K Jung, Hauke Rüther, Thomas Welk, Andreas Badke, Oliver Gonschorek, Christoph E Heyde, Frank Kandziora, Christian Knop, Philipp Kobbe, Matti Scholz, Holger Siekmann, Ulrich Spiegl, Peter Strohm, Christoph Strüwind, Michael Kreinest, and Arbeitsgruppe Wirbelsäulentrauma im Kindesalter der Sektion Wirbelsäule der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie.
• Zentrum für Wirbelsäulenchirurgie, Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, SRH Klinikum Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Karlsbad, Deutschland.
• Unfallchirurg. 2020 Apr 1; 123 (4): 252-268.

BackgroundSevere cervical spine injuries in children under the age of 17 years are rare. Recommendations or even guidelines for the diagnostics and treatment of such injuries in children are currently not available.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to formulate recommendations for diagnostics and treatment of injuries of the cervical spine in pediatric patients.Material And MethodsFirst, a search of primary and secondary literature on the topic complex of diagnostics and treatment of cervical spine injuries in children was carried out. An appropriate internal literature database was defined and maintained. Second, within the framework of 9 meetings from April 2017 to December 2019 the members of the Pediatric Spinal Trauma Group of the Spine Section of the German Society for Orthopaedics and Trauma (DGOU) systematically formulated recommendations for the diagnostics and treatment of injuries of the cervical spine in pediatric patients by a consensus process.ResultsRecommendation for the diagnostics and treatment for injuries of the cervical spine could be formulated for three age groups (age group I: 0-6 years; age group II: 7-9 years; age group III: 10-16 years). The diagnostic and therapeutic principles known from adult patients suffering from injuries to the cervical spine cannot be easily transferred to pediatric patients.ConclusionInjuries to the pediatric spine are rare and should be treated in specialized spine centers. Pediatric patients with a stable cardiopulmonary status should undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if a spinal trauma is suspected. Classification systems and therapeutic recommendations for injuries to the cervical spine known from adult patients could also be used for adolescent patients. This is not possible for children under the age of 10 years. Only few classification systems exist for this age group. Basic principles of the treatment of spinal trauma in children is the restoration of spinal stability and correct anatomical relationships as well as the protection of all neural structures.

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