scholarly journals F.01 Prognostic factors in adults with spinal cord injury without radiological abnormalities (SCIWORA): MRI study

Author(s):  
R Martinez-Perez ◽  
I Paredes ◽  
J Cotrina ◽  
S Pandey ◽  
A Lagares

Background: Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiological Abnormality (SCIWORA) is underreported and poorly recognized in adults. This entity is an important subtype of spinal cord injury (SCI) with relatively good outcomes. Despite this, few studies have been performed to determine specific imaging-related prognostic factors. Methods: A retrospective review of adult patients with cervical SCI admitted to two University hospitals from January 2000 to December 2010 was performed. Only patients with an MRI performed within 72 hours after trauma were included. All patients with bony injury or traumatic malalignment were excluded. Data gathered on the remaining patients included demographics, mechanism of injury, severity of SCI, long-term patient outcome, improvement in neurological condition and MRI results. Results: 49 patients selected. Patients with extramedullary hemorrhage showed worse neurological status at initial examination. Disruption of either the anterior longitudinal ligament or ligamentum flavum was associated with worse outcomes at initial examination and at 1-year follow up. Lesion length was also significantly associated with outcomes at 1 year evaluation and initial evaluation. Conclusions: Early MRI has an important prognostic value in patients suffering SCIWORA. Lesion length is a powerful predictor of outcome. Soft tissue injury and spinal cord changes play a role in the severity of injury as well as the ability to recover.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin M. Triplet ◽  
Isobel A. Scarisbrick

Abstract Study design We completed retrospective analysis of statin use in individuals with neurologically significant spinal cord injury in a historical cohort study. Objective Our objective was to establish the prevalence of cholesterol-lowering agent use following spinal cord injury (SCI) and to determine the impact on recovery of motor function. Setting Patients enrolled in the Rochester Epidemiology Project in Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA from 2005 to 2018 were included in analysis. Methods Exclusion criteria: age <18, comorbid neurological disease, prior neurological deficit, nontraumatic injury, survival <1 year, or lack of motor deficit. Demographics and cholesterol-lowering agent use in 83 individuals meeting all criteria were recorded. A total of 68/83 individuals were then assessed for change in function over the first 2 months after injury using the ISNCSCI motor subscore. Statistical comparison between control and statin groups was done by two-sided Chi-squared test or two-tailed Student’s t test. Generalized regression was performed to assess associations between independent variables and functional outcome. Results 30% of individuals with SCI had a prescription for a cholesterol-lowering agent. No significant differences were observed in severity of injury or demographic composition between groups. The change in motor subscore was reduced in the statin group compared to controls (p = 0.03, Mann–Whitney). Both severity of injury and statin were significant predictors of reduced motor recovery (p = 0.001, and p = 0.04, respectively). Conclusions Both severity of SCI and statins were significant predictors of reduced motor recovery. Additional investigation is needed to address potential impact of statin-therapy in the context of CNS injury and repair.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason F. Talbott ◽  
John Russell Huie ◽  
Adam R. Ferguson ◽  
Jacqueline C. Bresnahan ◽  
Michael S. Beattie ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Rahul Singh ◽  
Ravi Shankar Prasad ◽  
Ashvamedh Singh ◽  
Kulwant Singh ◽  
Anurag Sahu

Abstract Objective To evaluate traumatic spondyloptosis cases for neurological, surgical, and outcome perspectives. Materials and Methods This retrospective study includes 17 patients of spondyloptosis admitted in our department between August 2016 and January 2020. Each patient was evaluated in terms of demographic profile, clinical presentation, duration of injury, mode of injury, associated injuries, level and type of spondyloptosis, spinal cord status, nociceptive and neuropathic pain severity, severity of injury based on International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSI) assessment, surgical approaches, complications, and outcome. Unpaired t- test and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Values with p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results Fall from height (58.8%) was the most common mode of injury. Most common level of spondyloptosis was T12–L1 (41.1%). Sagittal–plane spondyloptosis (76.5%) were more common than coronal–plane spondyloptosis (23.5%). Most common associated injury was musculoskeletal (64.7%). Neurological status of the patient at presentation (p = 0.0007) was significantly associated with outcome after 3 months of surgery/conservative management. Residual listhesis was present in 53.3% of patients postoperatively. Postoperative nociceptive pain (p = 0.0171) and neuropathic pain (0.0329) were significantly associated with residual listhesis. Duration of injury (p = 0.0228) was also significantly associated with postoperative residual listhesis. Conclusion Complete reduction of spondyloptosis should be the goal of surgery. Overall prognosis of spinal cord injury (SCI) due to traumatic spondyloptosis is poor.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-382
Author(s):  
Oliver Kamp ◽  
Oliver Jansen ◽  
Rolf Lefering ◽  
Renate Meindl ◽  
Christian Waydhas ◽  
...  

Background: Sepsis and multiple organ failure (MOF) remain one of the main causes of death after multiple trauma. Trauma- and infection-associated immune reactions play an important role in the pathomechanism of MOF, but the exact pathways remain unknown. Spinal cord injury (SCI) may lead to an altered immune response, and some studies suggest a prognostic advantage for such patients having sepsis or multiple trauma. Yet these findings need to be evaluated in larger cohorts of trauma patients. Methods: Retrospective, multicenter study, using the data of the TraumaRegister DGU. Patients with and without SCI surviving the initial first 72 hours after trauma were matched according to injury pattern and age. Comparative analysis considered morbidity (sepsis, MOF) and hospital mortality. Results: The study population included 800 matched pairs. As intended by the matching process, patients with cervical SCI had an otherwise comparable injury pattern but a higher severity of trauma (mean Injury Severity Score: 36 vs 29, mean number of diagnosis: 5.6 vs 4.4). They had a higher rate of sepsis (15.9% vs 10.9%, P = .005) and MOF (35.9% vs 24.1%, P < .001) while mortality revealed no significant difference (9.5% vs 9.9%, P = .866). Conclusions: Cervical SCI leads to an increased rate of sepsis and MOF but appears to be favorable with respect to outcome of sepsis and MOF following multiple trauma. Further research should focus on the pathomechanisms and the possible arising therapeutic options.


2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1035-1038
Author(s):  
Ali Salim ◽  
Marcus Ottochian ◽  
Ryan J. Gertz ◽  
Carlos Brown ◽  
Kenji Inaba ◽  
...  

The evaluation of the abdomen in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is challenging for obvious reasons. There are very little data on the incidence and complications of patients who sustain SCI with concomitant intraabdominal injury (IAI). To determine the incidence and outcomes of IAI in blunt trauma patients with SCI, a trauma registry and record review was performed between January 1998 and December 2005. Baseline demographic data, Injury Severity Score, and associated IAI were collected. Two groups were established and outcomes were analyzed based on the presence or absence of IAI. Intraabdominal and hollow viscus injures were found in 15 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, of 292 patients with blunt SCI. The presence of intraabdominal injury varied according to the level of the SCI: 10 per cent of cervical, 23 per cent of thoracic, and 18 per cent of lumbar SCI. The overall mortality was 16 per cent. The presence of intraabdominal injury was associated with longer intensive care unit length of stay (13 versus 6 days, P < 0.01), hospital length of stay (23 versus 18 days, P < 0.05), higher complication rate (46% versus 33%, P = 0.09), and higher mortality (44% versus 11%, P < 0.01) when compared with patients with SCI without IAI. Intraabdominal injuries are common in blunt SCI. Liberal evaluation with computed tomography is necessary to identify injuries early.


Neurology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (24) ◽  
pp. e2181-e2191
Author(s):  
Jordan W. Squair ◽  
Amanda H.X. Lee ◽  
Zoe K. Sarafis ◽  
Geoff Coombs ◽  
Otto Barak ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo determine the population-level odds of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) experiencing fatigue and sleep apnea, to elucidate relationships with level and severity of injury, and to examine associations with abnormal cerebrovascular responsiveness.MethodsWe used population-level data, meta-analyses, and primary physiologic assessments to provide a large-scale integrated assessment of sleep-related complications after SCI. Population-level and meta-analyses included more than 60,000 able-bodied individuals and more than 1,800 individuals with SCI. Physiologic assessments were completed on a homogenous sample of individuals with cervical SCI and matched controls. We examined the prevalence of (1) self-reported chronic fatigue, (2) clinically identified sleep apnea, and 3) cerebrovascular responsiveness to changing CO2.ResultsLogistic regression revealed a 7-fold elevated odds of chronic fatigue after SCI (odds ratio [OR] 7.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.5–16.2), and that fatigue and trouble sleeping are correlated with the level and severity of injury. We further show that those with SCI experience elevated risk of clinically defined sleep-disordered breathing in more than 600 individuals with SCI (pooled OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.3–7.5). We confirmed that individuals with SCI experience a high rate of clinically defined sleep apnea using primary polysomnography assessments. We then provide evidence using syndromic analysis that sleep-disordered breathing is a factor strongly associated with impaired cerebrovascular responsiveness to CO2 in patients with SCI.ConclusionsIndividuals with SCI have an increased prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing, which may partially underpin their increased risk of stroke. There is thus a need to integrate sleep-related breathing examinations into routine care for individuals with SCI.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 1666-1675
Author(s):  
Einat Engel-Haber ◽  
Gabi Zeilig ◽  
Simi Haber ◽  
Lynn Worobey ◽  
Steven Kirshblum

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 9037
Author(s):  
Rita Capirossi ◽  
Beatrice Piunti ◽  
Mercedes Fernández ◽  
Elisa Maietti ◽  
Paola Rucci ◽  
...  

Although, biomarkers are regarded as an important tool for monitoring injury severity and treatment efficacy, and for predicting clinical evolution in many neurological diseases and disorders including spinal cord injury, there is still a lack of reliable biomarkers for the assessment of clinical course and patient outcome. In this study, a biological dataset of 60 cytokines/chemokines, growth factorsm and intracellular and extracellular matrix proteins, analyzed in CSF within 24 h of injury, was used for correlation analysis with the clinical dataset of the same patients. A heat map was generated of positive and negative correlations between biomarkers and clinical rating scale scores at discharge, and between biomarkers and changes in clinical scores during the observation period. Using very stringent statistical criteria, we found 10 molecules which correlated with clinical scores at discharge, and five molecules, which correlated with changes in clinical scores. The proposed methodology may be useful for generating hypotheses regarding “predictive” and “treatment effectiveness” biomarkers, thereby suggesting potential candidates for disease-modifying therapies using a “bed-to-bench” approach.


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