Value of Complete Cervical Helical Computed Tomographic Scanning in Identifying Cervical Spine Injury in the Unevaluable Blunt Trauma Patient with Multiple Injuries: A Prospective Study

Abstract

There is a high incidence of cervical spine injuries in the severe, blunt, multiple-injury, unevaluable patients requiring intensive care unit admission. Plain radiography alone is not reliable in diagnosing many cervical spine injuries. Complete cervical spiral computed tomography is superior to plain radiography. It is suggested that in this selected group of patients, both plain radiography and spiral computed tomography should be performed.