World journal of emergency surgery : WJES
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The best method for radiographic "clearance" of the cervical spine in obtunded patients prior to removal of cervical immobilization devices remains debated. Dynamic radiographs or MRI are thought to demonstrate unstable injuries, but can be expensive and cumbersome to obtain. An upright lateral cervical radiograph (ULCR) was performed in selected patients to investigate whether this study could provide this same information, to enable removal of cervical immobilization devices in the multiple trauma patient. ⋯ ULCR are inferior to both CT and MRI in the detection of cervical injury in patients with normal plain radiographs. We therefore cannot recommend the use of ULCR in the obtunded trauma patient.