Journal
JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE
Volume 67, Issue 6, Pages 1305-1310Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1097/TA.0b013e31819db57c
Keywords
Cervical spine injury; Cervical stability; Skull fracture; Traumatic brain injury
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Funding
- Shanghai Council for Nature and Science [03ZR14059]
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Background: Reports on the risk factors for combined craniocervical spine injury in comatose patients are rare. The incidence of concomitant cervical injury in comatose patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) was determined herein. Methods: One thousand twenty-six comatose patients with TBI were examined. The clinical characteristics of combined craniocervical trauma were documented, including type and location of cervical injury, occurrence of hypotension, and dyspnea. Results: Seventy-one patients (6.92%) sustained cervical spine injury. The most common injury region included the upper cervical segments, demonstrated in 37 (52.11%) of 71 patients. Of the 71 patients who sustained combined craniocervical spine injury, 42 (59.15%) had hypotension, including 26 (36.62%) with dyspnea. With regard to the association between the severity of TBI and the incidence of the cervical injury, a significant difference was apparent between patients with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 3-5 and those with an initial GCS score of 9-12 (11.62% compared with 4.03%, p < 0.01). Regarding the relationship between the mechanism of injury and the occurrence of cervical spine injury, cervical spine injury was associated at a significantly higher incidence with motorcycle accident-related head trauma as compared with nonmotorcycle accident-related trauma (10.32% vs. 4.68%, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Patients who Sustained TBI as a result of motorcycle accidents and those exhibiting a lower GCS score are at the highest risk for concomitant cervical spine injury.
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