Immobilization of a neck with a neck collar

Authors: Rednenko VV, Poplavets E.V.

Editor: Rednenko V.V.

Equipment for the practical skill:

• set of cervical collars

Clinical situation:      

• A man, 30 years old, diving into a lake hit his head to the bottom. Friends pulled him out of the lake. The casualty lies on the shore, complains of sharp pain in the neck

Order of the skill performance:

Preparatory stage:

• Introduce yourself
• Identify patient
• Obtain informed consent to the procedure
  • Give all the information to the person about what the procedure involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are reasonable alternative, and what will happen without this procedure
  • Explain what you are going to do.
  • Ask the patient to consent to procedure.
• Prepare a splint for cervical spine immobilization (cervical collar) 
  • if there is a set of splints, select the splint of the required size
  • unfasten and open it (disconnect the front and back part).

Main stage:

• Position the victim on a flat surface face up, ensuring immobility in the cervical spine (at an road accident inside a broken car you can use  this splint to the victim in a sitting position, before removing the victim from the car)
• Place the back part of the neck collar under the cervical spine, lifting the victim's head slightly, excluding the turn and flexion of the cervical spine

• Provide a contact of the upper side of the back part of the splint is in the occipital tuber
• Place the front part of the splint above neck, ensuring a contact to the angles of the lower jaw and chin

• Fix the splint - unite the front and back of the splint with the fastening elements.

 Final stage:

• Ask the patient if the splint prevents him from swallowing and breathing (if he is conscious).

• If the victim is unconscious, provide an open airway, putting forward the jaw and opening his mouth (Note: Without a tilting the head back). Assess the patient breath