Emergency

Canadian C-Spine Rule

Decision rule to safely rule out cervical spine injury in trauma.

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Parameters

Canadian C-Spine Rule Result

FormulaAlgorithmic flowchart based on high-risk factors, low-risk factors, and range of motion.

Clinical Pearls

Reduces unnecessary imaging (X-rays/CT scans) in the Emergency Department while maintaining near 100% sensitivity for clinically significant cervical spine injuries.

Limitations

Only applies to alert (GCS 15) and stable trauma patients. Does NOT apply if there are non-trauma causes, neurological deficits, or if the patient is under 16 years old.