Clearing C-Spine in the field

does your service clear c=spine in the field?

  • yes: ALS only

    Votes: 8 25.0%
  • Yes: ALS and BLS levels

    Votes: 11 34.4%
  • No:

    Votes: 13 40.6%

  • Total voters
    32
  • Poll closed .

boingo

Forum Asst. Chief
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One of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Professors here is almost done with a study about clearing C-spines in the field. She is looking at whether the restriction of movement on a child, a terrifing experience, is worth it in all cases.

I remember an incident a month ago where a child came in from another facility where the other facility already cleared C-spine but didn't send the films with the child. The case attending (A PEM fellow) was ok with not re-c-spining him, but the surgery resident that came down wanted a c-collar on him with manual immobilization provided until he could look at the films. Once he discovered ther films wern't there, he ordered films, and cleared, but the surgery attending came down and wanted more views, so here we go again re c-spining the poor kid.

Was it really worth it to the kid? (and I don't have an answer for this one, its for you to decide) Sure, the outlying hospital can make a mistake, and it's our liability if we didn't c-spine him, but he was not happy about being tied down and unable to move.


Kids spines are different. SCIWORA. Spinal Cord Injury Without Obvious Radiographic Abnormality.
 
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