A 9-year-old boy was seated in a back passenger seat and met with a road traffic accident. He was immediately rushed to the ED and CT scans were acquired (1st image). The CT scan demonstrated undisplaced fractures of C1 and C2 vertebrae, a chance of fracture of L1 vertebra with obliteration of the spinal canal. He was transferred to a specialist pediatric unit for further assessment and management. Clinical examination revealed tenderness at the craniocervical and thoracolumbar junctions, but neurological examination was normal in all four limbs.
Lower limb findings were inconsistent with the radiological examination and thus a repeat CT was performed. The repeat CT and MRI indicated that the there was no significant spinal injury. Further probing revealed that the child was distressed during the first examination and had been crying while images were taken. After going through the…
