Citation

Hwang PY, Lewis PM, Balasubramani YV, Madan A, Rosenfeld JV. Injury 2010; 41(9): 929-934.

Affiliation

Department of Neurosurgery, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Victoria, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.injury.2010.03.006

PMID

20362981

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Blunt carotid and vertebral artery injury (BCVI) is a relatively uncommon but potentially devastating injury. The aim of our study was to highlight the incidence, patterns, presentation and associations of BCVI at our institution. METHODS: Retrospective data between 1st January 2003 and 31st December 2006 was obtained from The Alfred Hospital's health information system, patient medical records and the Department of Neurosurgery's database. Injuries were graded using the Denver grading scale. RESULTS: 67 patients (0.64%) out of 10,417 minor and major trauma admissions, were diagnosed with BCVI. 33 (49%) sustained blunt carotid and 34 (51%) sustained blunt vertebral injuries. Motor vehicle accident (MVA) was the cause in 43 out of 67. 35% had associated head injury whilst 57% had concurrent cervical spine fractures. Odds ratio analysis showed that MVA victims with concomitant upper cervical spine injury were 22.9 times more likely to suffer BCVI than those without such risk factors. Approximately 50% of patients had a Glasgow coma score of 14 or less (GCS

Language: en