Evaluation of cervical spine clearance scores in children younger than 3 years with blunt trauma

Tej D. Azad, Kelly Jiang, Carly Weber-Levine, Ryan P. Lee, Amit Jain, Paul Sponseller, Mari Groves, Nicholas Theodore, Isam W. Nasr, Eric M. Jackson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE The PEDSPINE I and PEDSPINE II scores were developed to determine when patients require advanced imaging to rule out cervical spine injury (CSI) in children younger than 3 years of age with blunt trauma. This study aimed to evaluate these scores in an institutional cohort. METHODS The authors identified patients younger than 3 years with blunt trauma who received cervical spine MRI from their institution's prospective database from 2012 to 2015. Patient demographics, injury characteristics, and imaging were compared between patients with and without CSI using chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. RESULTS Eighty-eight patients were identified, 8 (9%) of whom had CSI on MRI. The PEDSPINE I system had a higher sensitivity (50% vs 25%) and negative predictive value (93% vs 92%), whereas PEDSPINE II had a higher specificity (91% vs 65%) and positive predictive value (22% vs 13%). Patients with CSI missed by the scores had mild, radiologically significant ligamentous injuries detected on MRI. Both models would have recommended advanced imaging for the patient who required halo-vest fixation (risk profile: no CSI, 81.9%; ligamentous, 10.1%; osseous, 8.0%). PEDSPINE I would have prevented 52 (65%) of 80 uninjured patients from receiving advanced imaging, whereas PEDSPINE II would have prevented 73 (91%). Using PEDSPINE I, 10 uninjured patients (13%) could have avoided intubation for imaging. PEDSPINE II would not have spared any patients intubation. CONCLUSIONS Current cervical spine clearance algorithms are not sensitive or specific enough to determine the need for advanced imaging in children. However, these scores can be used as a reference in conjunction with physicians' clinical impressions to reduce unnecessary imaging.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)138-144
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics
Volume34
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2024

Keywords

  • PEDSPINE
  • cervical spine injury
  • imaging
  • trauma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Clinical Neurology

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