Pediatric Cervical Spine Clearance and Immobilization Practice among Prehospital Emergency Medical Providers: A Statewide Survey

Abstract

Objectives Pediatric cervical spine injuries are rare but potentially life threatening. Although published guidelines for assessment of such injuries exist, there is less uniformity in its implementation in out-of-hospital settings. Our purpose was to assess the knowledge and practice patterns for pediatric cervical spine immobilization among prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) providers in Arizona. Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted (October-December 2018), using an electronic mailing list of certified EMS providers (ground and air) in Arizona. A 20-question structured web-based survey was developed and deployed. Results One hundred eight EMS stations were contacted with the survey. Sixty-eight providers responded; majority were emergency medical paramedics (73.1%). Most of the stations surveyed did not have a pediatric trauma center (66.2%). When treating children younger than 3 years, half of the respondents stated they did not know of a specific cervical spine clearance criterion; 59.3% felt that cervical spine immobilization was required "sometimes,"and 40.0% were unaware of the state's EMS pediatric cervical spine clearance algorithm; 93.9% of EMS providers felt that an age-based algorithm for cervical spine clearance in children would be useful. Conclusions In this statewide survey involving prehospital EMS providers, we found that pediatric cervical spine clearance and immobilization practices, even within a specific geographic location, remain inconsistent.