Is there need for thoracic spine radiographs following a negative chest CT in trauma patients?

The purpose of this study was to assess the need for conventional radiographs of the thoracic spine for routine clearance of trauma patients in whom chest CT has revealed no spinal trauma. The study was in the form of a retrospective review of trauma patients over the previous five years who underwent conventional radiographs of the thoracic spine following a chest CT that revealed no spinal trauma. Two hundred thirty-five trauma patients were found to have undergone conventional thoracic spine series following a chest CT that showed no spinal trauma. In 234 of the cases, the thoracic spine series was also negative. In one case, the thoracic spine series revealed mild anterior compression of the T7 vertebral body. This injury was stable and required no specific intervention. CT of the chest is an adequate evaluation of the thoracic spine in trauma patients who require routine thoracic spine clearance, making subsequent conventional radiographs of the thoracic spine unnecessary.