Hot off the press: Prehospital cervical spine immobilization.

Abstract

Pre-hospital care of patients with potential cervical spine injuries has evolved over time from strict spinal immobilization (SI) with a hard collar and spine board to spinal motion restriction (SMR) with more variable use of cervical collars and patient positioning. There is limited research describing how these changes have been implemented. This study describes and analyzes the practice of SI/SMR in an urban Canadian Emergency Medical Service. We provide critical analysis of the article and summarize the social media discussion and a podcast in which the authors discuss their work.