title: Prognostic factors in traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation.
abstract: Traumatic atlanto-occipital dislocation (AOD) is an ominous injury with high mortality and morbidity in trauma patients. Improved survival has been observed with advancements in pre-hospital and hospital care. Furthermore, high quality imaging studies are accessible at most trauma centers; these are crucial for prompt diagnosis of AOD. The objective of this study is to perform a comprehensive literature review of traumatic AOD, with specific emphasis on identifying prognostic factors for survival. A review of the literature was performed using the Medline database for all traumatic atlanto-occipital articles published between March 1959 and June 2015; 141 patients from 60 total studies met eligibility criteria for study inclusion. A binary logistic regression model was utilized to identify prognostic factors. The analysis assessed age, sex, spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), polytrauma injury (PI), and Traynelis AOD Classification. Only TBI was statistically significantly associated with death (OR 8.05 p<0.05); SCI did not reach statistical significance for predicting mortality in AOD patients (OR 1.25 p>0.05). Age, sex, PI, and Traynelis AOD Classification did not meet significance to predict mortality in AOD patients. We found that patients with TBI are eight times more likely to die than patients without TBI. A high degree of suspicion for AOD during pre-hospital care, as well as, prompt diagnosis and management in the trauma center play a key role in the treatment of this devastating injury. The relationship between survival and factors such as TBI and SCI should be further explored.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
authors.forename: Salman Abbasi
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Fard
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center, 525 East 68 Street, Box 99, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: avila.mao@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mauricio J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
authors.forename: Cameron M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Johnstone
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
authors.forename: Apar S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
authors.forename: Christina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skoch
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
authors.forename: Kamran V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Sattarov
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center, 525 East 68 Street, Box 99, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Ali A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Baaj
mesh_terms: D001269:Atlanto-Occipital Joint / Q000293:injuries*; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000401:mortality*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000401:mortality*
keywords: Atlanto-occipital dislocation; Cervical vertebrae; Craniocerebral trauma; Spinal cord injuries; Trauma; Treatment outcome