Level I, therapeutic study.

Due to the inherent bony instability of the cervical spine, there is an over-reliance on ligamentous structures for stability, making this segment of the vertebral column most prone to traumatic injuries. The frequently occurring mechanisms of injury include axial compression, hyper-flexion, hyper-extension, and rotational type injuries. Good pre-hospital care and a thorough assessment in the emergency department of patients suspected to have a cervical spine injury (CSI) leads to improved clinical outcomes. The objective of the initial evaluation of a patient with a suspected CSI is to identify the presence of injuries through thorough clinical and radiologic assessments as missed injuries are potentially catastrophic. The treatment of cervical spine injuries can be conservative, pharmacological, or surgical, and aims to halt SCI progression, stabilize the spine, and to allow rehabilitation of the patient.

No abstract

Introduction: Injuries to the cervical spine occur in only 2 to 3% of all patients with CNS injuries, because of their associated mortality and morbidity to the patient, socioeconomic impact over the family of the injured patients, they are highly significant. Aim: The aim of this study was to record the incidence of subaxial spine injury patients in a neuro surgical unit in our institution. Material and Methods: Spine injury cases referred to Neuro surgery unit were included in the study. Anatomical level of injury, number of cervical levels injured, trauma mechanism involved in fall injuries, associated head injury, neurological deficit at the time of diagnosis were recorded. Results: About 36% of the patients has fractures at more than one cervical level. 2 patients had high cervical and subaxial fractures among the 36 patients. The modes of injury were motor vehicle accidents 76%, fall from height 18%, swimming related injuries 6%. The relative incidence of subaxial cervical spine injury increased significantly with age. Conclusion: RTA is the majority to cause subaxial injury. Male predominance was observed and the incidence increased with age.A proper uniform referral system to tertiary center and further study with longer duration is essential.