Are cervical spine radiographs of value in elderly patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency?

Radiographs of the cervical spine of 32 elderly patients clinically diagnosed as having vertebrobasilar insufficiency secondary to cervical spondylosis were compared with 32 age- and sex-matched controls. The mean age was 77.6 years. There was no significant difference in the severity of the radiological changes between the two groups as judged by the narrowing of disc space and marginal osteophyte formation. It is concluded that there is no place for routine examination of the cervical spine in patients thought to have vertebrobasilar insufficiency secondary to cervical spondylosis.