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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
07:28
A Contusive Model of Unilateral Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Using the Infinite Horizon Impactor
Published on: July 24, 2012
Subaxial cervical spine trauma classification: the Subaxial Injury Classification system and case examples
Alpesh A Patel1, Andrew Dailey, Darrel S Brodke
1Department of Orthopaedics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, USA. alpesh.patel@hsc.utah.edu
Neurosurgical Focus
|November 5, 2008
Summary
A new Subaxial Injury Classification (SLIC) system for cervical trauma provides a severity score by evaluating injury morphology, discoligamentous integrity, and neurological status. This system offers improved diagnostic and prognostic insights for subaxial cervical injuries.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Neurosurgery
- Trauma Surgery
Background:
- Subaxial cervical spine injuries require accurate classification for effective management.
- Existing classification systems have limitations in fully characterizing injury severity and predicting outcomes.
Observation:
- The Spine Trauma Study Group developed the Subaxial Injury Classification (SLIC) and Severity score.
- The SLIC system evaluates three primary characteristics: injury morphology, discoligamentous complex integrity, and neurological status.
- Minor characteristics include injury level and osseous fractures, with numerical scoring for major components.
Findings:
- The SLIC system assigns scores based on the severity of the three major injury characteristics.
- The sum of these scores yields a comprehensive injury severity score.
- The system was applied to three representative cases of subaxial cervical trauma.
Implications:
- The SLIC system addresses limitations of prior classifications by including discoligamentous integrity and neurological status.
- It integrates critical clinical variables, offering potential diagnostic and prognostic value.
- The system's simplicity facilitates application in clinical practice for subaxial cervical trauma.
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