Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Fig 1.
Midsagittal MDCT image of the cervical spine illustrating the method used to measure the thickness of the PVST.
- Fig 2.
A 24-year-old patient after a motor vehicle crash with closed head injury; no fracture was identified in the cervical spine or craniocervical junction. A, Midsagittal MDCT image of the cervical spine demonstrates abnormal PVST thickening at C1 and C2 (asterisks). B, Correlation with midsagittal short τ inversion recovery MR image obtained the next day confirms the presence of extensive PVST edema and/or hematoma in this region (arrowheads).
- Fig 3.
Normal appearance of the upper PVST on the midsagittal plane. A, MDCT image demonstrates 2 high-attenuation stripes separated by a central stripe of fat attenuation corresponding to the retropharyngeal/retroesophageal spaces. B, Diagram helps depict the normal anatomic planes of the PVST.
- Fig 4.
A 43- year-old patient after a motor vehicle crash with no osseous injury. A, Midsagittal MDCT image of the cervical spine demonstrates abnormal high attenuation (black arrow) anteriorly displacing the retropharyngeal fat plane (white arrows). B, Short τ inversion recovery MR image obtained the same day shows extensive PVST edema and/or hematoma in this region (arrowheads).
- Fig 5.
A 27-year-old patient after a motor vehicle crash with no osseous injury. A, Midsagittal MDCT image demonstrates normal PVST thickness by using normal values based on MDCT. B, Evaluation of the appearance of the PVST reveals subtle loss of the normal PVST fat plane above the inferior endplate of C3 (arrowhead). C, Correlation with short τ inversion recovery MR image obtained the same day confirms the presence of edema and/or hematoma of the PVST accounting for the MDCT image findings.
Tables
Results for mean, range, and upper limits of normal PVST thickness on MDCT*
Mean PVST Thickness (range) (mm) Upper Limit of Normal PVST Thickness (mm) C1 4.4 (1.5–11) 8.5 C2 3.7 (1.5–8.5) 6 C3 4.2 (2–9.5) 7 C4 7 (2.5–16) N/C C5 12.4 (5–20) N/C C6 13 (5.5–24) 18 C7 11.6 (2.5–21) 18 Note:—N/C indicates that upper limits of normal at C4 and C5 were not calculated due to the inconsistent position of the esophagus and larynx among the patient population: PVST, prevertebral soft tissue; MDCT, multidetector CT.
* Upper limit of normal calculated as 2 SDs above the mean maximum value for 97.5% of the population.
