Spine injuries

Matthew J. Martin, Ryan Gocke, John G. DeVine

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

You arrived in the theater of operations several weeks ago, and injured patients from your first mass casualty event are streaming into the ER. With the exception of the uniforms and the fact that your ER is a tent, it looks a lot like a civilian trauma event. Multiple patients arrive bleeding and moaning, almost all of them on spine boards and with cervical collars in place. One patient has multiple fragment wounds to his chest, neck, and face and is having a hard time breathing. He is bleeding around his cervical collar, but no one wants to remove it or move the patient for fear of violating "spinal precautions." Suddenly, the experienced triage physician arrives and wastes no time in removing the collar, sitting the patient upright, and assessing his neck wounds. Miraculously the patient survives with an intact spinal cord and neurologic function.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationFront Line Surgery
Subtitle of host publicationA Practical Approach
PublisherSpringer International Publishing
Pages471-486
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic)9783319567808
ISBN (Print)9783319567792
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 21 2017

Keywords

  • Spinal cord injury
  • Spinal shock
  • Spine
  • Spine immobilization
  • Spine trauma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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