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Is the open-mouth odontoid view necessary in children under 5 years?
L E Swischuk1, S D John, E P Hendrick
1Department of Pediatric Radiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555-0709, USA.
Objectives:
Questionnaires (984) were submitted to pediatric radiologists to determine how often odontoid fractures were missed on lateral views and detected on open-mouth odontoid views in children under 5 years. Other questions relating to imaging protocols of the odontoid also were included, and there were 432 respondents.
Results:
Of these, 161 respondents indicated that an open-mouth odontoid view was not routinely included in their imaging protocol.
Conclusions:
There was considerable variability on how the problem of imaging of the odontoid was addressed, but overall there were enough data to begin to consider the concept that the open-mouth odontoid might not be needed in patients under 5 years of age if a lateral view is normal.
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