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The Risk of Cervical Spine Injuries among Submersion Patients in River
Journal of the Korean Society of Traumatology ; : 47-53, 2006.
Article in Korean | WPRIM | ID: wpr-47506
ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:

Recently, the American Heart Association recommended that routine cervical spine protection in submerged patients was not necessary, except in high-energy injury situations. However, until now, this recommendation has few supportive studies and literatures. This retrospective study was performed to demonstrate the risk of cervical spine injury in patients who had been submerged in a river.

METHODS:

Seventy-nine submerged patients who visited St. Mary's Hospital between January 2000 and December 2005 were included in this retrospective study. We investigated and analyzed the victim's age, sex, activity on submersion, mental status and level of severity at admission, prognosis at discharge, associated injuries, and risk group by using the medical records and cervical spine lateral images. According to the activity on submersion, victims were classified into three groups high risk, low risk, and unknown risk. The reports of radiologic studies were classified into unstable fracture, stable fracture, sprain, degenerative change, and normal.

RESULTS:

The patients'mean age was 36.8 yrs, and 54% were males. Of the 79 patients, adult and adolescent populations (80%) were dominant. Jumping from a high bridge (48%) was the most common activity on submersion and accounted for 52% of the high-risk group. The Glasgow coma scale at admission and the cerebral performance scale at discharge showed bimodal patterns. The results of the radiologic studies showed one stable fracture, one suspicious stable fracture, and 18 sprains. The incidence of cervical spine fracture in submerged patients was 2.5% in our study. The incidence of cervical spine injury was higher in the high-risk group than it was in the low-risk group, especially in the jumping-from-high-bridge subgroup; however this observation was not statistically significant. No other factors had any significant effect on the incidence of cervical spine injury.

CONCLUSION:

Our study showed that even submerged patients in the high risk group had a low incidence of cervical spine fracture and that the prognosis of a patient did not seem to be influenced by the cervical spine fracture itself.
Subject(s)

Full text: Available Index: WPRIM (Western Pacific) Main subject: Prognosis / Spine / Sprains and Strains / Glasgow Coma Scale / Cervical Vertebrae / Medical Records / Incidence / Retrospective Studies / Risk Factors / Rivers Type of study: Etiology study / Incidence study / Observational study / Prognostic study / Risk factors Limits: Adolescent / Adult / Female / Humans / Male Language: Korean Journal: Journal of the Korean Society of Traumatology Year: 2006 Type: Article

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Full text: Available Index: WPRIM (Western Pacific) Main subject: Prognosis / Spine / Sprains and Strains / Glasgow Coma Scale / Cervical Vertebrae / Medical Records / Incidence / Retrospective Studies / Risk Factors / Rivers Type of study: Etiology study / Incidence study / Observational study / Prognostic study / Risk factors Limits: Adolescent / Adult / Female / Humans / Male Language: Korean Journal: Journal of the Korean Society of Traumatology Year: 2006 Type: Article