RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Traumatic lesions of cervical spine are common, but those of the cervico-occipital junction are less frequent but more serious. PURPOSE: Evaluate the radiological aspects of cervico occipital Junction traumatisms. METHODS: It is a retrospective study of 32 files of cervico occipital junction traumatisms, collected from January 1995 to December 2004. Imaging methods used were: conventional radiography and computed tomography. RESULTS: Cervico occipital junction traumatisms were less common. They account for 12.7% of cervical spine traumatisms and 0.64% of the admissions. Patients mean age was of 36 years with a male predominance of 81%. Main etiologies were public highway accidents (66%), falls (7%), sports accidents (6%). Bone lesions were most frequent, dominated by fractures of the axis (58%), followed by those of the atlas (24%) and of the occipital bone (5%). Dislocations were observed in 10 patients. Basilar print was observed in two patients who deceased. Polytrauma was observed in 34% of the patients. CONCLUSION: Cervico occipital junction traumatisms are severe and uncommon in hospitals because of their high lethality. CT is most effective for analyzing lesions.
