Early care of the patient with cervical spine injury.

For almost two decades, great strides have been made in improving the early care of trauma patients both at the trauma scene and in the hospital. Highly skilled providers in the field rapidly extricate, stabilize, and transport patients to trauma centers. In those centers, teams of clinicians can quickly resuscitate, evaluate, and treat life-threatening conditions. These improvements should lead to an increase in survival and functional capacity of all trauma victims, including those with cervical spine injury.