Road crash cervical injuries. A radiological study of fatalities.
A lateral radiograph of the cervical spine was obtained for 174 of the 207 persons killed in road crashes in Adelaide, South Australia, during the 12-month period of June 1, 1987 to May 31, 1988. Of the total of 57 cases of cervical injury, routine postmortem examination identified 30 cases (52.6%), and the radiographic examinations identified 51 cases (89.5%). In the cases where it was performed, radiography identified 96.2% of injuries. One-half of injuries of level C3 and above were not reported at postmortem examination, compared with 22% of those occurring below this level. This finding correlates with the physical difficulties of examining the upper part of the cervical spine. This study has shown that lateral cervical radiography is a simple and effective method of more accurately identifying significant cervical spinal injuries, thus improving greatly the value of postmortem examinations in determining the patterns and mechanisms of these injuries.
Cain
C M
CM
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma, Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia.
Simpson
D A
DA
Ryan
G A
GA
Manock
C H
CH
James
R A
RA
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D002423:Cause of Death; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography; D013021:South Australia