Do All Patients with Major Blunt Trauma Need C-Spine CT?

Clinical factors show promise for predicting fractures, but until they're validated, all such patients should undergo C-spine computed tomography.

Both the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) and Canadian cervical spine (C-spine) rules have demonstrated that clinical exam is sufficient to clear the cervical spine for certain trauma patients. However, the sensitivity and specificity of these rules for patients with major trauma are not adequate, and many centers perform C-spine computed tomography (CT) for all patients with major trauma. In this prospective single-site study, investigators evaluated the correlation between findings on C-spine CT and presence of any of 18 combined NEXUS and Canadian C-spine criteria in 5812 trauma patients.

All patients met criteria for major trauma requiring trauma team activation, which included Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score <14…

Reviewing Author

Richard D. Zane, MD, FAAEM

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Richard D. Zane, MD, FAAEM

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose