POSTERIOR SOFT-TISSUE INJURY IN PEDIATRIC CERVICAL-SPINE TRAUMA

We describe our experience in dealing with severe cervical spine injur y in children below the age of 8 years. Objectives: To highlight the i mportance of posterior soft tissue injury in the cervical spine trauma of children aged under 8 years. Setting: We treated four such cases i n the Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital-all were victims of road traffic ac cidents. Intervention: All patients were resuscitated on arrival and r equired ventilation. All had head injuries. Cervical spine injuries we re suspected; MRI showed the lesion. Results: Three patients remained ventilator-dependent quadriplegic. One had Brown-Sequard syndrome and went on to full recovery. No cervical spine instability was noted. Con clusion: Widening of C1-C2 interspinous space of over 10 mm should ale rt the clinician to the possibility of posterior soft tissue injuries. Cervical spine injuries must always be suspected in the unconscious c hild. A 'normal' cervical spine X-ray does not exclude a spinal cord i njury which can be diagnosed by an MRI.