Imaging of Vertebral Trauma (Cambridge Medicine (Hardcover)) 3rd Edition

Book Preface

The imaging methods used to evaluate patients with suspected vertebral injuries have undergone radical changes since the publication of the second edition of Imaging of Vertebral Trauma in 1996. Th e most signifi cant of these changes has been the ascendency of computed tomography (CT) to become the primary tool for studying these patients. Radiography now assumes a secondary role, serving mainly for follow-up of known injuries or as a tool to solve problems with CT studies, such as motion or metallic artifacts. Furthermore, there has been an ongoing dialog in the radiologic and trauma literature regarding the indications for imaging in trauma patients, as well as the methods of choice. Of most recent note are the issues of high-radiation dose associated with CT studies as well as the continuing debates on health care reform and cost containment.

The first edition dealt mainly with radiography supplemented with polydirectional or computed tomography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The second edition expanded the discussion of the roles of MR in vertebral injuries. This new edition presents an in-depth discussion on the indications and methods of imaging the spine based on the evidence available in the current literature. Each chapter has been revised with those precepts in mind and the majority of the illustrations have been changed to represent state-ofthe- art imaging. Th ere are still a large number of radiographs since they present teaching points on principles that transfer directly to CT studies. Furthermore, this book is used in parts of the world where high-speed multislice CT scanners may not be available, as they are in the United States. Th e section on imaging has been divided into three chapters: an introduction, radiography and CT, and MR imaging. A new chapter on pediatric injuries has been added by Drs. George El-Khoury and Geetika Khanna. Dr. Bryan Smith has revised and updated the chapter on MR imaging.

I hope that the third edition of Imaging of Vertebral Trauma will continue to fi ll the gaps that were present in the fi rst two editions and that it will provoke a thoughtful reassessment of the imaging of patients with suspected vertebral or spinal cord injury.

Richard H. Daff ner , MD, FACR