TY - JOUR T1 - Cervical spine injuries to children under 11: should we use radiography more selectively in their initial assessment? JF - Emergency Medicine Journal JO - Emerg Med J SP - 225 LP - 227 DO - 10.1136/emj.20.3.225 VL - 20 IS - 3 AU - P J E Smart AU - P J Hardy AU - D M G Buckley AU - J M Somers AU - N J Broderick AU - K E Halliday AU - L Williams Y1 - 2003/05/01 UR - http://emj.bmj.com/content/20/3/225.abstract N2 - Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of cervical spine radiography in injured children under 11 years old, and suggest improvements. Methods: Retrospective survey of radiographs and accident and emergency records for children examined during a one year period in a large teaching hospital. Results: No cervical spine fractures occurred in this age group during the year. The recorded clinical findings did not always justify radiography. Conclusions: Clinical examination appears undervalued by those assessing injured children and is poorly recorded. Radiography can be used more selectively. Initial assessment using a single lateral projection can be followed in doubtful cases by cross sectional imaging. ER -