title: CT scans versus conventional tomography in acute fractures of the odontoid process.
abstract: Four different radiological diagnostic methods were compared as to their diagnostic relevance in the analysis of odontoid fractures. Thirty-one patients with fresh odontoid fractures were investigated using standard anteroposterior and lateral radiographs, conventional tomography, axial computerized tomography and two-dimensional reconstruction in the sagittal and the coronal planes. As a control, 13 patients without odontoid fractures were examined. The results of the different investigations were correlated with the actual (clinical and/or intra-operative) findings. The coefficients of correlation for the conventional tomography and two-dimensional reconstruction were kappa=0.774 and kappa=0.907, respectively. For conventional radiography and axial computerized tomography (CT), the coefficients were clearly lower, at kappa=0.364 and kappa=0.627, respectively. The less time-consuming CT examination with sagittal and coronal reconstructions is equivalent with respect to diagnostic accuracy and can, therefore, replace conventional tomography in the evaluation fractures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Reconstructive Surgery, Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Universitätsklinikum Charité Campus Virchow Klinikum, Berlin, Germany. markus.weisskopf@kkl.srh.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weisskopf
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reindl
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hopfenmüller
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mittlmeier
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009809:Odontoid Process / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000293:injuries*; D014054:Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed