398 Application of the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study Criteria and the Canadian C-spine Rule among Children Aged 8 to 17 Years in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Review

Clinical rules have been developed to identify acute trauma patients who require imaging of the cervical spine. While the computed tomography (CT) scan is highly sensitive for detecting cervical spine injury (CSI), unnecessary ionizing radiation is of concern, especially in children. The clinical rules have been more extensively tested in adults; however, there is support in the literature for National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study criteria (NEXUS) to reliably detect injury in children over 7 years old.