Is the pattern of neurological damage of diagnostic value in the radiological assessment of acute cervical spine injury?
Correlation between the pattern of neurological deficit present and the radiographic appearances of the cervical spine after acute cervical spinal cord injury has been suggested. An analysis of 149 cervical spinal cord injury patients has been made to assess this observation. The analysis has shown poor correlation between the initial radiographs and the pattern of spinal cord injury. Because of this, and the undesirable movement of such patients, it is concluded that additional radiographic procedures, mobility studies or tomography, should not be undertaken to exclude possible injuries which have not been demonstrated on routine cervical spine views.
