Traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation: a pediatric case report

Atlanto-occipital dislocation, once considered rare and fatal, has become more common. Reasons for improved survival are training, efforts of prehospital care givers, improved diagnostics, and a collaborative healthcare approach to the patient. Advanced prehospital care strategies and diligence in educating prehospital providers are the core elements in preventing further injury and facilitating injury identification. Coupled with improved diagnostics, time to injury identification and treatment initiation is accelerated. This pediatric case study presents a coordinated plan of care demonstrating appropriate prehospital strategies and a team approach to care resulting in a positive patient outcome.