The American surgeon
-
The American surgeon · Jan 2007
Assessment for additional spinal trauma in patients with cervical spine injury.
An institutional review board-approved 8-year retrospective trauma registry analysis of cervical spine injuries (CSIs) was done in a Level 1 trauma center. This analysis includes 129 CSI patients (1.3% of trauma admissions). Cervical spine radiographs diagnosed injuries in 71 per cent of CSI patients. ⋯ Injuries were isolated in 45 per cent and were multilevel in the remaining CSI patients. Contiguous and noncontiguous injuries involving the cervical and thoracolumbar spine are common. Assessment of the entire spinal column should be done in patients with CSI.