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How to prevent overlooking cervical spine injuries: pitfalls in spinal diagnostics

  • Trauma Surgery
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Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Many patients with a cervical spine injury do not show clinical signs of the injury. Therefore, cervical spine trauma may not be recognized, especially in unconscious and multiply injured patients. Due to proximity to the spinal cord, neurological deficits inclusive of complete tetraplegia are possible. Since cervical spine injuries are typically associated with injuries at other spinal levels, accurate knowledge of the trauma mechanism is essential. Even mild clinical symptoms need to be carefully evaluated in a standardized fashion with clinical and radiological examinations including plane X-rays and possibly CT scans.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Michael Blake Sanders for reviewing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Trauma Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30623, Hannover, Germany

    Uta Lange, Leonard Bastian, Christian W. Müller, Marc Busche & Christian Krettek

Authors
  1. Uta Lange
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  2. Leonard Bastian
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  3. Christian W. Müller
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  4. Marc Busche
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  5. Christian Krettek
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Correspondence to Uta Lange.

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The authors did not receive any commercial or monetary support for this paper.

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Lange, U., Bastian, L., Müller, C.W. et al. How to prevent overlooking cervical spine injuries: pitfalls in spinal diagnostics. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 127, 953–958 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-007-0370-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-007-0370-3

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