Objectives. Restraint of patients on a spine board has been used in the past to prevent further spinal cord injury after rescue of patients from the scene of an accident. Removal from the spine board is a routine protocol in many hospitals once the patient has been cleared of spinal injury. However, the benefit of using a spine board, in light-weight motorcycle-related accident victims, has never been studied before.
Materials and methods. A retrospective observational study enrolled patients who had sustained motorcycle-related acci-dents and were brought to our emergency department (ED). Patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale score lower than 15 and those who died at the ED, or had incomplete data, were excluded. The diagnosis of spinal injury was based upon clinical evaluation and was confirmed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging or X-ray reports, as interpreted by a qualified radiologist. A neurological examination was performed, according to the Standard Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury, directly after arrival and again before leaving the ED.
Results. During the study period, from January 2007 to December 2010, 91 patients with spinal injuries who met the inclusi-on criteria, consisting of 35 male and 56 female patients with a mean age of 45.44±18.12 years, were enrolled in our study. The scores of the motor and sensory neurological exams did not show any significant change during the ED stay after being placed in a gurney without a spine board (p=0.432).
Conclusions. Removal of the spine board and placement on a hospital gurney sponge is safe in alert patients whose primary examination is completed at the ED.