A comparison of three cervical immobilization devices

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Trauma Care

Background:

• Prehospital cervical spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are rare but severe.
• Spinal immobilization is standard practice for trauma patients by emergency medical services (EMS) to prevent SCI exacerbation.
• Current cervical collars are resource-intensive and may require manual stabilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the cervical stabilization properties of a novel rigid cervical immobilization collar (XCollar).
• To evaluate the XCollar against commonly used one-piece and two-piece rigid collars in the prehospital setting.

Main Methods:

• A prospective laboratory study involving 25 healthy adult volunteers.
• Goniometric techniques measured head and neck motion in seated and supine positions across horizontal, coronal, and sagittal planes.
• Statistical analysis included one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (p ≤ 0.004).

Main Results:

• The XCollar permitted 10-15 mm of movement without manual stabilization, less than comparison collars.
• In the seated position, the XCollar allowed less than 10 mm of movement in sagittal and horizontal planes.
• The study included a diverse range of subject morphometrics.

Conclusions:

• The XCollar demonstrated superior cervical stabilization in healthy volunteers compared to traditional collars, without manual assistance.
• Maximal stabilization was achieved when used with a long spine board and immobilization device.
• The XCollar presents a potentially acceptable alternative to manual stabilization when EMS resources are limited.