ABSTRACT
A 4-year-old boy is brought in by paramedics after a fall from the third story of an apartment building. The child is put into a cervical collar, immobilized on a backboard, and transported to a pediatric trauma center. Upon arrival the child has grunting respirations. The Glasgow Coma Scale score is 6 (see Case 40). The child is intubated with inline cervical spine immobilization. The cervical spine posteroanterior and lateral radiograph show the alignment of the cervical spine to be within normal limits but with significant prevertebral soft tissue swelling.
