PECARN: Predictors of Pediatric Cervical Spine Injuries

Presence of one of eight variables predicts cervical spine injuries after blunt trauma in children.

To identify predictors of cervical spine injury (CSI) after blunt trauma in children, investigators conducted a retrospective case-control study of children younger than 16 years who presented with blunt trauma and underwent cervical spine radiography at 17 medical centers in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) from 2000 through 2004. The investigators compared 550 children (mean age, 10.4 years) with CSI (cases) and 1060 randomly selected controls.

Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified eight variables that were associated with CSI: altered mental status, focal neurological deficit, complaint of neck pain (in children >2 years), torticollis, conditions that predispose to CSI (e.g., Down syndrome, ju…

Reviewing Author

Katherine Bakes, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier)

Grant/Research SupportDepartment of Justice

Editorial BoardsEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier); Rosen’s Emergency Medicine (Elsevier)

Katherine Bakes, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier)

Grant/Research SupportDepartment of Justice

Editorial BoardsEmergency Medicine Secrets (Elsevier); Rosen’s Emergency Medicine (Elsevier)