TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Cervical spine injuries in adults ≥ 65 years after low-level falls - a systematic review and meta-analysis
JO  - American journal of emergency medicine
A1  - McCallum, Jessica
A1  - Eagles, Debra
A1  - Ouyang, Yongdong
A1  - Ende, Jamie Vander
A1  - Vaillancourt, Christian
A1  - Fehlmann, Christophe
A1  - Shorr, Risa
A1  - Taljaard, Monica
A1  - Stiell, Ian
SP  - 144
EP  - 155
VL  - 67
IS  - 
N2  - BACKGROUND: Adults ≥ 65 are at risk of cervical spine (C-spine) injury, even after low-level falls. The objectives of this systematic review were to determine the prevalence of C-spine injury in this population and explore the association of unreliable clinical exam with C-spine injury. <br><br>METHODS: We conducted this systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic reviews to include studies reporting on C-spine injury in adults ≥ 65 years after low-level falls. Two reviewers independently screened articles, abstracted data, and assessed bias. Discrepancies were resolved by a third reviewer. A meta-analysis was performed to estimate overall prevalence and the pooled odds ratio for the association between C-spine injury and an unreliable clinical exam. <br><br>RESULTS: The search identified 2044citations, 138 full texts were screened, and 21 studies were included in the systematic review. C-spine injury prevalence in adults ≥ 65 years after low-level falls was 3.8% (95% CI: 2.8-5.3). The odds of c-spine injury in those with altered level of consciousness (aLOC) v/s not aLOC was 1.21 (0.90-1.63) and in those with GCS < 15 v/s GCS 15 was 1.62 (0.37-6.98). Studies were at a low-risk of bias, although some had low recruitment and significant loss to follow-up. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Adults ≥ 65 years are at risk of cervical spine injury after low-level falls. More research is needed to determine whether there is an association between cervical spine injury and GCS < 15 or altered level of consciousness.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0735-6757
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2023.02.008
ID  - ref1
ER  -