Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 54, Issue 5 , Pages 663-671.e1 , November 2009

The Out-of-Hospital Validation of the Canadian C-Spine Rule by Paramedics

Presented at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine annual scientific meeting, May 2007, Chicago, IL; and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians annual meeting, June 2007, Victoria, BC, Canada.

  • Christian Vaillancourt, MD, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress for correspondence: Christian Vaillancourt, MD, MSc, Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, Clinical Epidemiology Unit, F658, 1053 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4E9; 613-798-5555 ext.17012, fax 613-761-5351
    • ,
  • Ian G. Stiell, MD, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Tammy Beaudoin, CHIM

      Affiliations

    • Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Justin Maloney, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Andrew R. Anton, MD

      Affiliations

    • City of Calgary Emergency Medical Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
    • ,
  • Paul Bradford, MD

      Affiliations

    • Essex-Kent Base Hospital, Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Ed Cain, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
    • ,
  • Andrew Travers, MD, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Emergency Health Services, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
    • ,
  • Matt Stempien, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, Joseph Brant Hospital, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Martin Lees, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, Bluewater Health, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Doug Munkley, MD

      Affiliations

    • Niagara Base Hospital, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Erica Battram, RN

      Affiliations

    • Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Jane Banek, CHIM

      Affiliations

    • Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • George A. Wells, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
    • Ottawa Health Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Received 27 August 2008 ,Revised 20 January 2009 ,Accepted 4 March 2009.

  • Image Result

    The Canadian C-Spine Rule for alert (Glasgow Coma Scale score 15) and stable trauma patients for whom cervical spine injury is a concern, including patients with either posterior neck pain with any bl

    The Canadian C-Spine Rule for alert (Glasgow Coma Scale score 15) and stable trauma patients for whom cervical spine injury is a concern, including patients with either posterior neck pain with any blunt mechanism of injury or no neck pain but some visible injury above the clavicles. MVC, Motor vehicle crash.

  • Image Result
    Flow of patients recruited in the study.

    Flow of patients recruited in the study.

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 Supervising editor: Kathy J. Rinnert, MD, MPH

 Author contributions: CV and IGS applied for funding. CV and TB helped clean the database. CV monitored study progression, recruited centers, organized training, performed analyses, and wrote the paper. IGS, TB, JM, ARA, PB, EC, AT, MS, ML, DM, EB, JB, and GAW critically reviewed and helped edit the article. IGS developed the original rule and training material. TB acted as study coordinator. JM, ARA, PB, EC, AT, MS, ML, and DM acted as site coordinators, overseeing all local aspects of study site implementation. EB was the study nurse, reviewed all data collection sheets before data entry, and performed patient follow-up. JB acted as interim study coordinator. TB and JB monitored all aspects of the study. CV and GAW helped develop the study methodology. CV takes responsibility for the paper as a whole.

 Funding and support: By Annals policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article that might create any potential conflict of interest. See the Manuscript Submission Agreement in this issue for examples of specific conflicts covered by this statement. The authors are indebted to the Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for their financial support of this study.

 Publication date: Available online April 24, 2009.

 Reprints not available from the authors.

PII: S0196-0644(09)00241-8

doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2009.03.008

Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 54, Issue 5 , Pages 663-671.e1 , November 2009

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