MRI of cerebrum and cervical columna within two days after whiplash neck sprain injury

The present study was undertaken to evaluate if MRI within 2 days of a motor vehicle accident could reveal pathology of importance for understanding long-term disability after whiplash neck-sprain injuries. As part of a prospective study cervical and cerebral MRI was performed on 40 neck sprain patients with whiplash injury after car accidents. The imaging was done within 2 days of the injury to make sure that any neck muscle bleeding oedema or other soft tissue injuries could be detected. The MRI findings from the patients were both correlated to reported symptoms 6 months after the accident and compared to a control group of 20 volunteers. The MRI of both brain and neck revealed no significant differences between the patients and the control group. When the patients were grouped according to the main MRI findings at intake and compared according to the development of subjective symptoms reported by the patients, the only significant difference was more headaches at 6 months in the groups with disk pathology or spondylosis when compared to the group with no pathology. In conclusion, MRI within 2 days of the whiplash neck-sprain injury could not detect pathology connected to the injury nor predict symptom development and outcome. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.