Skip to main content

NEXUS criteria for C-spine imaging








NEXUS Criteria for C-Spine Imaging

Determines who can be cleared clinically of cervical spine fracture without imaging, by NEXUS study criteria.


Focal Neurologic Deficit Present?
Midline Spinal Tenderness Present?
Altered Level of Consciousness Present?
Intoxication Present?
Distracting Injury Present?
Patient has none of these,If none of the above criteria are present, the C-Spine can be cleared clinically by these criteria. Imaging is not required

If any of the above criteria are present, the C-Spine cannot be cleared clinically by these criteria. Imaging is required

One easy mnemonic for these criteria is NSAID:
  • Neuro Deficit
  • Spinal Tenderness (Midline)
  • Altered Mental Status/Level of Consciousness
  • Intoxication
  • Distracting Injury


  • Hoffman JR, Wolfson AB, Todd K, Mower WR. Selective cervical spine radiography in blunt trauma: methodology of the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS). Ann Emerg Med. 1998 Oct;32(4):461-9. PubMed PMID: 9774931.
  • Hoffman JR, Mower WR, Wolfson AB, Todd KH, Zucker MI. Validity of a set of clinical criteria to rule out injury to the cervical spine in patients with blunt trauma. National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study Group. N Engl J Med. 2000 Jul 13;343(2):94-9. Erratum in: N Engl J Med 2001 Feb 8;344(6):464. PubMed PMID: 10891516.
  • Stiell IG, Clement CM, McKnight RD, Brison R, Schull MJ, Rowe BH, Worthington JR, Eisenhauer MA, Cass D, Greenberg G, MacPhail I, Dreyer J, Lee JS, Bandiera G, Reardon M, Holroyd B, Lesiuk H, Wells GA. The Canadian C-spine rule versus the NEXUS low-risk criteria in patients with trauma. N Engl J Med. 2003 Dec 25;349(26):2510-8. PubMed PMID: 14695411.


Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 21, 2012 at 11:19 PM

    Thanks for posting about Spine Imaging. It is certainly one of the most thriving techniques in Radiology. Also the career opportunities in this industry are just amazing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The pressure volume loop...

In the pressure-volume loop below, cardiac work is best represented by:   the area of the curve  the slope of the line from points C to D  the distance of the line from points C to D  the slope of a line from points A to D .. .. ... .... ... .... .... .... In the pressure-volume loop below, cardiac work is best represented by:  the area of the curve Cardiac work is the product of pressure and volume and is linearly related to myocardial oxygen consumption. Cardiac work is best represented by the area of the curve of a pressure-volume loop.
Post a Comment
Read more

Steroids In Perioperative period...The Multi-purpose Drugs

1-Steroids are not Bronchodilator ,but have well established usefulness in hyper-reactive airway. They are also said to have a permissive role for bronchodilator medication. They can be administered orally, parenterally or in aerosol form 2- Steroids have been commonly used in chemotherapy for prevention of nausea along with other anti-emetic agents . Dexamethasone was found to be highly effective when given immediately before induction rather than at the end of anesthesia . 3- Steroids do exert analgesic effects. Various routes of administration of steroids include parentral, local infiltration at operated site , as an adjuvant in nerve blocks and central-neuraxial blockade. 4 - Steroids cannot be the mainstay of therapy in anaphylaxis because of the delayed onset of action, so they are used as adjunct after initial treatment with epinephrine. 5- Steroids (Dexamethsone) are of value in reduction or prevention of cerebral edema associated with parasitic infections and neopla...
1 comment
Read more

Anaphylaxis updates part 2- Empty Ventricle Syndrome

Patients with anaphylaxis should not suddenly sit, stand, or be placed in the upright position. Instead, they should be placed on the back with their lower extremities elevated or, if they are experiencing respiratory distress or vomiting, they should be placed in a position of comfort with their lower extremities elevated. This accomplishes 2 therapeutic goals: 1) preservation of fluid in the circulation (the central vascular compartment), an important step in managing distributive shock; and 2) prevention of the empty vena cava/empty ventricle syndrome, which can occur within seconds when patients with anaphylaxis suddenly assume or are placed in an upright position. Patients with this syndrome are at high risk for sudden death. They are unlikely to respond to epinephrine regardless of route of administration, because it does not reach the heart and therefore cannot be circulated throughout the body
Post a Comment
Read more