AO Spine Injury Classification System Made Easy

CME Credit The American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The ASNR designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. To obtain Self-Assessment CME (SA-CME) credit for this activity, an online quiz must be successfully completed and submitted. ASNR members may access this quiz at no charge by logging on to eCME at asnr.mycrowdwisdom.com. Nonmembers may pay a small fee to access the quiz and obtain credit via asnr.mycrowdwisdom.com. Spinal fractures are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients experiencing trauma. Identifying the significance of each fracture type and its prognosis is vital. Many trauma classification systems were devised to address these issues. The AO trauma classification system is a departure from prior classifications because it addresses new aspects that were not included in prior ones. Its addition of neurologic status and modifiers has enabled a more concise and accurate approach to fractures by incorporating more than the dichotomy of fracture or no fracture. This review article introduces the AO Spine injury classification system, some of the subsets under this classification system, and an explana-tion of how the American Society of Neuroradiology Common Data Elements macros can be used to better understand and incorporate this system into common radiologic practice to report spinal trauma in the language of the multidisciplinary team. Learning Objectives: To identify the AO Spine injury classification system and its subsets, what distinguishes it from different prior classifications, and how to implement American Society of Neuroradiology Common Data Elements AO Spine injury classification system macros into common radiologic practice, after completing this article.