A Comparison of Methods of Cervical Immobilization Used in Patient Extrication and Transport

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Abstract
The efficacy of 7 methods of cervical immobilization used in the prehospital setting was radiographically studied. The methods were: Philadelphia collar, Hare extrication collar, rigid plastic collar, Philadelphia collar + short board, Hare extrication collar + short board, rigid plastic collar + short board, and the short board used alone; 97 normal volunteers were randomized to 1 of these 7 methods. Each volunteer served as his or her own control. Efficacy was expressed as % reduction of baseline movement in the sagittal, frontal and horizontal planes. The short-board technique appeared to be superior to all the 3 collars studied. The collars provided no augmentation of immobilization over that provided by the short board alone. The short-board technique which is commonly used in the prehospital setting can be used as the standard of comparison against which newer prehospital devices can be objectively compared.

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