title: Cervical spine injury in child abuse: report of two cases.
abstract: Pediatric cervical spine injuries have rarely been reported in the setting of child abuse. We report two cases of unsuspected lower cervical spine fracture-dislocation in twin infant girls who had no physical examination findings to suggest cervical spine injury. Classic radiographic findings of child abuse were noted at multiple other sites in the axial and appendicular skeleton. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging proved to be valuable in both the initial evaluation of the extent of cervical spine injury and in following postoperative changes. The unexpected yet devastating findings in these two cases further substantiate the importance of routine evaluation of the cervical spine in cases of suspected child abuse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI 96859, USA.
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Rooks
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sisler
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Burton
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011859:Radiography; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D014427:Twins