Imaging of spinal injury in abusive head trauma: a retrospective study

Background Spinal imaging has been a neglected part of abusive head trauma (AHT) imaging. As most of the radiographs and CT spine are negative in AHT in infants, the cervical spine is assumed to be normal. There is increasing evidence in the role of injury to brainstem and cervical cord in the patho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatric radiology 2014-09, Vol.44 (9), p.1130-1140
Main Authors: Choudhary, Arabinda K., Ishak, Ramsay, Zacharia, Thomas T., Dias, Mark S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain Stem - injuries
Child Abuse - diagnosis
Child, Preschool
Craniocerebral Trauma - diagnosis
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Humans
Imaging
Incidence
Infant, Newborn
Ligaments - injuries
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neck Injuries - diagnosis
Neuroradiology
Nuclear Medicine
Oncology
Original Article
Pediatrics
Prevalence
Radiology
Retrospective Studies
Spinal Injuries - diagnosis
Ultrasound
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Summary:Background Spinal imaging has been a neglected part of abusive head trauma (AHT) imaging. As most of the radiographs and CT spine are negative in AHT in infants, the cervical spine is assumed to be normal. There is increasing evidence in the role of injury to brainstem and cervical cord in the pathogenesis of AHT. In addition, in courts of law, there is fierce debate about AHT, its mimics and other disparate nontraumatic diagnoses explaining the neuroradiological and skeletal findings. However, this discussion ignores the evidence and significance of spinal injury. We sought to study the cervical spine in an AHT cohort to understand the true prevalence of spinal injuries in AHT and contrast it with cohorts of accidental and nontraumatic groups to give the clinicians a robust diagnostic tool in evaluating AHT. Objective The purpose of this study is to compare the relative incidence of spinal ligamentous and soft-tissue abnormalities on spinal MRI among three groups of children ages
ISSN:0301-0449
1432-1998
DOI:10.1007/s00247-014-2959-3