Korean J Spine.  2015 Sep;12(3):146-149. 10.14245/kjs.2015.12.3.146.

Delayed or Missed Diagnosis of Cervical Instability after Traumatic Injury: Usefulness of Dynamic Flexion and Extension Radiographs

• Yeo CG
• Jeon I
• Kim SW

• KMID: 2288337
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14245/kjs.2015.12.3.146

Abstract

Prompt and accurate diagnosis of cervical spine injury is important to prevent the catastrophic results that can be caused by undetected lesions. Delayed or missed diagnosis of cervical spine injury occurs with an incidence of 5 to 20% according to previous studies. In this study, we report four cases of cervical instability without initial radiologic evidence. These cases demonstrate that dynamic flexion and extension radiographies can be a proper choice of modality to diagnose and exclude the possibility of cervical instability in a patient with a suspicious ligament injury on the static radiographies following acute cervical trauma.

Keyword

Cervical vertebrae; Dislocation; Radiography

MeSH Terms

Cervical Vertebrae
Diagnosis*
Dislocations
Female
Humans
Incidence
Ligaments
Radiography
Spine