VALUE OF CERVICAL-SPINE RADIOGRAPHS AS A SCREENING TOOL

A review of the reports of 848 cervical spine radiographs was done to assess the yield of useful and critical information in a group of pati ents without trauma. In 470 of these patients the clinical record also was reviewed; 54.2% of the radiographs were read as having degenerati ve change, 35% were read as normal, and 8.5% were read as being consis tent with muscle spasm. The remaining 2.3% included diagnoses of anato mic or congenital variants, soft tissue calcification, or old compress ion fractures. There were no serious diagnoses such as acute fracture, dislocation, or neoplasm that, had they not been identified, would ha ve put the patient in jeopardy. Thus, for most outpatients with nontra umatic symptoms of a nonspecific or nonlocalizing nature, the use of c ervical spine radiographs as a screening tool is not justified.