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Imaging of Spinal Trauma

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Spine Trauma

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Abstract

Patients presenting with a suspicion of spine trauma remain a diagnostic challenge despite continued research and technological advances over the last decade. These patients confound physicians because they constitute a difficult subset of patients; significant trauma with distracting injuries and commonly obtunded, either chemically or from associated head trauma. Even when presenting coherently, the consequences of a missed or delayed diagnosis of spinal trauma are devastating, contributing to a general high level of anxiety en route to “clearing the spine” in this population of patients. The sheer volume of patients presenting to the Emergency Department already in a cervical collar has increased, fueled by a combination of more trauma and more litigation.

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    1. Brian Petersen
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    1. Dept. Orthopaedics, University of Colorado, Denver, East 17th Avenue 12631, Aurora, 80045, Colorado, USA

      Vikas V. Patel

    2. Dept. Orthopaedics, University of Colorado, Denver, East 17th Avenue 12631, Aurora, 80045, Colorado, USA

      Evalina Burger

    3. Panorama Orthopedics and Spine Center, Golden Ridge Rd. 660, Golden, 80401, Colorado, USA

      Courtney W. Brown

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    Petersen, B. (2010). Imaging of Spinal Trauma. In: Patel, V., Burger, E., Brown, C. (eds) Spine Trauma. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03694-1_3

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