Pediatric Cervical Spine Trauma: Injury Patterns, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

BACKGROUND

Traumatic injuries to the cervical spine or spinal cord are uncommon pathologies in the pediatric population. As injury severity is disproportionately higher among children due to significant risk for debilitating long-term disability, traumatic spinal fractures in children raise greater clinical concern than comparable injuries in adults.

SUMMARY: Unlike adults, children possess unique features such as incomplete ossification of vertebrae, synchondroses, pseudo-subluxation, horizontal alignment of ligaments, and absence of lordosis, which results in greater mobility and flexibility in the pediatric spine. These features are prominent in the cervical spine, which accounts for the most common area of traumatic spinal injuries in children.

KEY MESSAGES: In this review, we summarize injury patterns, diagnosis, and treatment of traumatic cervical spine injuries in the pediatric population.