title: The importance of evaluating all seven cervical vertebrae in the trauma patient: a case report.
abstract: The cervical spine is injured in approximately 3% of major trauma patients and 10% of patients with serious head injury. We present a patient in whom an unstable cervical spine, without neurological deficit, resulting from a traffic accident was misdiagnosed as normal in the emergency room. Although cervical spine pain or tenderness and neurological deficit have a sensitivity of 93% for cervical spine injury, asymptomatic patients or patients with mild symptoms can have spine injury. All trauma patients with a complaint of mild neck pain require a standard three-view radiological evaluation of the cervical spine demonstrating all seven vertebrae and the top of first thoracic vertebra even if their neurologic examination is normal.
authors.affiliation: Düzce University, School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Düzce, Turkey. merihis@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Merih
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iş
authors.forename: Ayşe
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karataş
authors.forename: Fevzullah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Akyüz
authors.forename: Ferruh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gezen
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000209:etiology; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed