Clinical decision making associated with an undetected odontoid fracture in an older individual referred to physical therapy for the treatment of neck pain

Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy

Volumn 38, Issue 7, 2008, Pages 418-424

  Ross, Michael D ^a   Cheeks, John M ^b  

^a DAVID GRANT MEDICAL CENTER   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS   (United States)

Author keywords

Cervical spine; Dens fracture; Diagnostic imaging; Differential diagnosis

Indexed keywords

EID: 46849099626     PISSN: 01906011     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2008.2687     Document Type: Article

References (24)

1. Anderson LD, D'Alonzo RT. Fractures of the odontoid process of the axis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1974;56:1663-1674.
2. Blackmore CC, Emerson SS, Mann FA, Koepsell TD. Cervical spine imaging in patients with trauma: determination of fracture risk to optimize use. Radiology. 1999;211:759-765.
3. Cook CE, Hegedus E, Pietrobon R, Goode A. A pragmatic neurological screen for patients with suspected cord compressive myelopathy. Phys Ther. 2007;87:1233-1242. http://dx.doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20060150
4. Gale SC, Gracias VH, Reilly PM, Schwab CW. The inefficiency of plain radiography to evaluate the cervical spine after blunt trauma. J Trauma. 2005;59:1121-1125.
5. Gillespie LD, Gillespie WJ, Robertson MC, Lamb SE, Cumming RG, Rowe BH. Interventions for preventing falls in elderly people. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2001;CD000340. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000340
6. Goodman CC, Snyder TEK. Differential Diagnosis in Physical Therapy. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders Company; 2000.
7. Herndon JG, Heimick CG, Sattin RW, Stevens JA, DeVito C, Wingo PA. Chronic medical conditions and risk of fall injury events at home in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45:739-743.
8. Hole DE, Cook JM, Bolton JE. Reliability and concurrent validity of two instruments for measuring cervical range of motion: effects of age and gender. Man Ther. 1995;1:36-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1054/math.1995.0248
9. Jensen MP, Karoly P, Braver S. The measurement of clinical pain intensity: a comparison of six methods. Pain. 1986;27:117-126.
10. Lakshmanan P, Jones A, Howes J, Lyons K. CT evaluation of the pattern of odontoid fractures in the elderly-relationship to upper cervical spine osteoarthritis. Eur Spine J. 2005;14:78-83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/ s00586-004-0743-z
11. McKinnis LN. Fundamentals of Orthopedic Radiology. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company; 1997.
12. Mower WR, Hoffman JR, Pollack CV, Jr., Zucker MI, Browne BJ, Wolfson AB. Use of plain radiography to screen for cervical spine injuries. Ann Emerg Med. 2001;38:1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1067/mem.2001.115946
13. Pateder DB, Carbone JJ. Cervical spine trauma. J Surg Orthop Adv. 2005;14:8-16.
14. Saguil A. Evaluation of the patient with muscle weakness. Am Fam Physician. 2005;71:1327-1336.
15. Sattin RW. Falls among older persons: a public health perspective. Annu Rev Public Health. 1992;13:489-508. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/ annurev.pu.13.050192.002421
16. Sizer PS, Jr., Brismee JM, Cook C. Medical screening for red flags in the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal spine pain. Pain Pract. 2007;7:53-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-2500.2007.00112.x
17. Speechley M, Tinetti M. Falls and injuries in frail and vigorous community elderly persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1991;39:46-52.
18. Spivak JM, Weiss MA, Cotler JM, Call M. Cervical spine injuries in patients 65 and older. Spine. 1994;19:2302-2306.
19. Stiell IG, Wells GA, Vandemheen KL, et al. The Canadian C-spine rule for radiography in alert and stable trauma patients. JAMA. 2001;286:1841-1848.
20. Tinetti ME, Baker DI, McAvay G, et al. A multifactorial intervention to reduce the risk of falling among elderly people living in the community. N Engl J Med. 1994;331:821-827.
21. Tinetti ME, Doucette J, Claus E, Marottoli R. Risk factors for serious injury during falls by older persons in the community. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995;43:1214-1221.
22. Tinetti ME, lnouye SK, Gill TM, Doucette JT. Shared risk factors for falls, incontinence, and functional dependence. Unifying the approach to geriatric syndromes. JAMA. 1995;273:1348-1353.
23. Tinetti ME, Williams TF, Mayewski R. Fall risk index for elderly patients based on number of chronic disabilities. Am J Med. 1986;80:429-434.
24. Touger M, Gennis P, Nathanson N, et al. Validity of a decision rule to reduce cervical spine radiography in elderly patients with blunt trauma. Ann Emerg Med. 2002;40:287-293.