Abstract
Traumatic spine and spinal cord injuries are common and potentially devastating lesions, resulting in a wide spectrum of clinical findings (ranging from a minor nuisance to major neurologic deficits and death). These injuries are associated with numerous medical complications in the acute and long-term phase of care, as well as with important socioeconomic consequences. A complete assessment of spinal injury using radiological techniques involves the evaluation of bony structures, ligaments, the spinal canal, and the spinal cord itself. The primary objectives of imaging patients with trauma of the spine are the accurate depiction of the spinal axis, the identification of surgical emergencies, and the detection of unstable injuries. Computed tomography (CT) plays a central role of clinical neuroradiology in the acute spinal trauma and is the gold-standard screening study for the identification of bone injury and alignment abnormalities, with significantly higher sensitivity and specificity compared to plain radiography. However, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging exhibits superior diagnostic accuracy in the evaluation of the spinal cord, ligaments, and soft tissue injuries. Patients with neurologic deficits and progressive worsening, with CT findings suggestive of spinal cord, disc, ligamentous, or nerve root injuries, will benefit from an early MR imaging that often influences further clinical management.
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Boban, J., Thurnher, M.M., Van Goethem, J.W. (2018). Spine and Spinal Cord Trauma. In: Barkhof, F., Jager, R., Thurnher, M., Rovira Cañellas, A. (eds) Clinical Neuroradiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61423-6_28-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61423-6_28-1
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