Lumbar fractures in adult blunt trauma: axial and single-slice helical abdominal and pelvic computed tomographic scans versus portable plain films.

Background: Our hypothesis was that abdominal and pelvic computed tomographic (AP-CT) scans are equivalent to portable two-view plain films in detecting lumbar spine fractures in adults. Since many trauma patients often undergo AP-CT scanning to evaluate for possible intra-abdominal injuries, using the AP-CT scan to screen for lumbar fractures could make the trauma evaluation process more efficient.

Methods: The institutional trauma registry at a Level I trauma center was used to identify all blunt lumbar fractures during a 6-year period.