TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Usefulness of full spine computed tomography in cases of high-energy trauma: a prospective study
JO  - European journal of orthopaedic surgery and traumatology
A1  - Takami, Masanari
A1  - Nohda, Kazuhiro
A1  - Sakanaka, Junya
A1  - Nakamura, Masamichi
A1  - Yoshida, Munehito
SP  - S167
EP  - 71
VL  - 24
IS  - Suppl 1
N2  - INTRODUCTION: At this hospital, computed tomography (CT) of the full spine is performed on all patients who have sustained high-energy trauma because spinal fractures can be overlooked by referring only to clinical findings and plain X-rays of the spine. The goal of this study is to prospectively detect the occurrence of spinal fractures in cases of high-energy trauma using full spine CT and to evaluate the usefulness of it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were 179 patients (134 male, 45 female) who were deemed to have sustained high-energy trauma in the 21-month period starting in September 2007. Spinal fractures initially revealed by CT were studied in detail. RESULTS: Spinal fractures were found in 54 patients (30.2 %); 19 patients had stable fractures, and 41 had unstable fractures. Forty patients had concomitant injuries to organs in addition to spinal injury; these patients had an average Injury Severity Score of 20.2 (4-70). Of 16 patients with a cervical fracture, 6 (37.5 %) had a fracture that did not appear on plain X-rays of the cervical and that was first identified by CT. Of 43 patients with a thoracolumbar fracture, 6 (14.0 %) had a fracture that would have been difficult to detect if a full spine CT had not been done. CONCLUSION: In patients who have sustained high-energy trauma, spinal fractures may be overlooked during primary care by a diagnosis based only on plain X-rays and clinical manifestations. Therefore, patients who have sustained high-energy trauma should be evaluated with full spine CT during primary care.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1633-8065
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00590-013-1268-0
ID  - ref1
ER  -