Outline your approach to the initial and subsequent management of the cervical spine after major trauma.
Management of patients with potential cervical spine injuries is still controversial, despite a number of major groups attempting to provide evidence based guidelines (eg. ATLS, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma). Delayed clearance of the cervical spine can result in many potential problems, related to requirements for immobilisation as well as the cervical collar (eg. pressure areas, airway access, delayed mobilisation etc.). Candidates often failed to discuss the “subsequent management” component.
Patients with major trauma are at increased risk of having associated spinal injuries (including those related to the cervical spine). All patients should be treated as if they have cervical spine injuries (ie. appropriately immobilised) until further information is available. The conscious patient without distractors can be assessed and managed clinically (National Emergency X-radiography Utilization Study, Hoffman NEJM 2000), but the scenario usually seen in ICU is one where one or more pre-conditions for clinical clearance are not met (eg. distracting injuries, or presence of intoxicants). In this scenario the usual recommendation is three view cervical spine radiographs (AP, lateral and open mouth view) supplemented by high resolution CT (especially directed to suspicious areas). Debate still surrounds the need for lateral fluoroscopic flexion/extension to decrease the injuries missed by plain films and CT (EAST J Trauma 1998, www.east.org, Morris BMJ 2004).
Routine MRI is problematic because of ferromagnetic compatibility.
The issue of clearance of the C-spine in the unconscious patient is covered elsewhere. And in any case, that is not what the question is asking.
The key points the college wanted to see seem to have been pragmatic ones.
Some adjustments must be made to correct for the age of this question, and recent findings.
Thus, "subsequent management" should include the following:
The Alfred Spinal Clearance Protocol
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Cooper, D. J., and H. M. Ackland. "Clearing the cervical spine in unconscious head injured patients-the evidence." Critical Care and Resuscitation 7.3 (2005): 181.
Hennessy, Deirdre, et al. "Cervical spine clearance in obtunded blunt trauma patients: a prospective study." The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery68.3 (2010): 576-582.
Como, John J., et al. "Is magnetic resonance imaging essential in clearing the cervical spine in obtunded patients with blunt trauma?." Journal of Trauma-Injury, Infection, and Critical Care 63.3 (2007): 544-549.
Tran, Baotram, Jonathan M. Saxe, and Akpofure Peter Ekeh. "Are flexion extension films necessary for cervical spine clearance in patients with neck pain after negative cervical CT scan?." Journal of Surgical Research 184.1 (2013): 411-413.
Sierink, J. C., et al. "Systematic review of flexion/extension radiography of the cervical spine in trauma patients." European journal of radiology 82.6 (2013): 974-981.