Medical Student Research Forum Posters

Pediatric cervical spine injury (PCSI) can result in devastating neurologic disability. Prompt and accurate diagnosis of PCSI is an essential component of trauma care (1). While computed tomography (CT) imaging is both sensitive and specific in detecting clinically significant injuries, indiscriminate utilization can lead to unnecessary ionizing radiation exposure. During a routine trauma audit process in 2019, we observed a high CT utilization rate of 54%, and CT’s were appropriately obtained only 46% of the time. In response, and in conjunction with newer published guidelines (2), we updated our institutional PCSI protocol. The updated protocol was developed in a consensus-based process among trauma stakeholders and came into effect February 2022.