Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Apr-Jun;11(2):71-74.
doi: 10.4103/jcvjs.JCVJS_28_20. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

The incidence of odontoid fractures following trauma in a major trauma center, a retrospective study

Sami Ibrahim AlEissa  1   2 , Ali Abdullah Alhandi  1 , Ahad Abdullah Bugis  3 , Raghad Khalid Alsalamah  2 , Abdulellah Alsheddi  1 , Abdulaziz Khalid Almubarak  2   4 , Suhail Saad AlAssiri  1 , Faisal MohammedSaleh Konbaz  1
Affiliations

The incidence of odontoid fractures following trauma in a major trauma center, a retrospective study

Sami Ibrahim AlEissa et al. J Craniovertebr Junction Spine. 2020 Apr-Jun.

Abstract

Background: Cervical spine injury is the most common vertebral injury after major trauma, 20% of all cervical fractures happen to be odontoid fractures. In young adults, odontoid fracture usually happens as a result of high-energy trauma after a motor vehicle accident (MVA). MVA in Riyadh represents 38.4% of all trauma cases, in which the head-and-neck are the most injured body parts. This research aims to provide information about the incidence of odontoid process fracture post-MVA in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: The design of this study was retrospective. A single level one trauma center database (trauma registry) was used to identify odontoid fractures post-MVA. All trauma cases from 2008 to the most recent were included, a total of 17,047 patients, to identify cervical spine fractures and further identify odontoid fracture incidence. The patients' radiographs were reviewed retrospectively, and odontoid fractures were classified by a board-certified spine surgeon. A descriptive analysis was carried out to report basic data distribution. Pearson's correlation was carried out to assess associations.

Results: A total number of cervical spine fracture was 1195 patients (6.6% of the total sample). The incidence of odontoid fractures during the entire study period from 2008 to 2018 was 42 of 480 patients with C2 cervical trauma, constituting 8.75% C2 fractures, and 3.5% of cervical spine fractures. The mean age was 41.75 ± 18 years. There were three patients (onemale, two females) with type I odontoid fracture, 26 (all males) with type II, and 13 (11 males, 2 females) with type III. Most patients were managed conservatively (83.33%), whereas 16.67% underwent surgical management.

Conclusion: The incidence of posttraumatic odontoid fractures is low, given the younger population of this study. This does not predict future incidence rates with the continued improvement of road traffic laws and awareness in the population.

Keywords: Cervical; fractures; motor vehicle accident; odontoid; spine; trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Most patients were managed conservatively (90.48%) with Halo vest cervical orthosis immobilization while those who were unstable (9.52%) underwent posterior fusion with screws
Figure 2
Figure 2
Year by year incidence showed no statistically significant trends in incidence rates
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tenny S, Dulebohn S. Fracture, Odontoid. Treasure Island: StatPearls; 2017.
    1. Ochoa G. Surgical management of odontoid fractures. Injury. 2005;36(Suppl 2):B54–64. - PubMed
    1. Jaiswal AK, Sharma MS, Behari S, Lyngdoh BT, Jain S, Jain VK. Current management of odontoid fractures. Indian J Neurotrauma. 2005;2:3–6.
    1. Guan J, Bisson EF. Treatment of odontoid fractures in the aging population. Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2017;28:115–23. - PubMed
    1. Meena R, Singh A, Singh C, Chishti S, Kumar A, Langshong R. Pattern of fractures and dislocations in a tertiary hospital in North-East India. Internet J Epidemiol. 2013;11:1–5.