Prevertebral soft tissue shadow widening--an important sign of cervical spinal injury

Injury to the cervical spine may first be diagnosed by recognizing the increase in prevertebral soft tissue seen on a radiograph. Seven such patients are reviewed. Failure to recognize this important sign led to delay in diagnosis of the cervical spinal injury in one patient and resulted in tetraplegia. A large prevertebral swelling should be considered as an indication of a severe and unstable injury to the cervical spine and requires careful handling of the patient.