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.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma, Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia.
C M
CM
Cain
D A
DA
Simpson
G A
GA
Ryan
C H
CH
Manock
R A
RA
James
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D002423:Cause of Death; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D011859:Radiography; D013021:South Australia