Abstract

The Canadian Cervical Spine Rule (CCR) was based on patient data from 25 years ago and recommended cervical spine computed tomography (CSCT) for trauma patients aged 65 and older. We sought to determine the differences in rate of symptomatic and asymptomatic fractures of trauma patients ≥ 65 and < 65 years old, given the changing demographics and heterogeneity in today's elderly population. This retrospective study of CSCT results from two hospitals in our health system included 5 years of trauma patient data. In addition to the primary variable of fracture rates, we separated the patients into symptomatic / asymptomatic groups and ≥ 65 and < 65 years of age. In the ≥ 65 age group, 190 fractures among 9455 CSCTs (2.0%) were identified (112 females = 58.9%); 29 (0.3%) were in asymptomatic patients. In patients < 65, there were 199 (1.6%) fractures out of 12,531 CSCTs of which 19 (0.15%) were asymptomatic and 46 were female (23.1%). The rates of fractures in the older cohort (2.0%) were substantially different than those reported in the original CCR articles (5.2% and 6.6%). However, the fracture rates reported for those < 65 (1.4% and 1.7% historically) were similar to the current findings (1.6%). The cervical spine fracture rate at our institution for patients ≥ 65, at 2.0%, was higher than those patients < 65 (1.6%) and favored female (58.9-23.1%) patients. The findings were much lower than those CCR percentages that led to scanning trauma patients who are 65 and older. Asymptomatic fractures are rarer still (0.15-0.30%).

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.