Emergency evaluation of cervical spine injuries: CT versus plain radiographs

The recognition and appropriate initial management of the patient with an acute cervical spine injury in the ED is important because of the devastating and catastrophic effects of spinal cord injury. The use of computed tomography (CT) scan compared with initial plain radiographs in the detection of acute blunt traumatic cervical spine injury was evaluated in 20 patients. There was a disparity between the plain film and the CT scan as read by an attending radiologist in 12 patients (60%). In five patients (25%) the plain radiograph suggested a fracture or dislocation that was confirmed by CT scan. In eight patients (40%) the cervical spine film was read as a fracture, dislocation, or soft tissue widening between the cervical spine vertebrae. CT scan done later after admission was normal. In the remaining seven patients the plain film was read as "normal." CT scan, however, was normal in only three, and in four of these seven patients there was a discrepancy between the plain radiograph and the CT. Thus in four of 20 patients (20%) the plain film was read as "normal," while CT scan showed a fracture in our study. CT scan was superior to plain films in diagnosing cervical spine trauma, and it eliminated the false-positive (40%) and false-negative (20%) results obtained by relying on plain radiographs alone.