scholarly journals Cervical Spinal Cord, Root, and Bony Spine Injuries

2011 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 782-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley J. Hindman ◽  
John P. Palecek ◽  
Karen L. Posner ◽  
Vincent C. Traynelis ◽  
Lorri A. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Spine ◽  
General Anesthesia ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Traumatic Injury ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Cervical Injury ◽  
Claims Database ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spine Injuries ◽  
Closed Claims

Background The aim of this study was to characterize cervical cord, root, and bony spine claims in the American Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims database to formulate hypotheses regarding mechanisms of injury. Methods All general anesthesia claims (1970-2007) in the Closed Claims database were searched to identify cervical injuries. Three independent teams, each consisting of an anesthesiologist and neurosurgeon, used a standardized review form to extract data from claim summaries and judge probable contributors to injury. Results Cervical injury claims (n = 48; mean ± SD age 47 ± 15 yr; 73% male) comprised less than 1% of all general anesthesia claims. When compared with other general anesthesia claims (19%), cervical injury claims were more often permanent and disabling (69%; P < 0.001). In addition, cord injuries (n = 37) were more severe than root and/or bony spine injuries (n = 10; P < 0.001), typically resulting in quadriplegia. Although anatomic abnormalities (e.g., cervical stenosis) were often present, cord injuries usually occurred in the absence of traumatic injury (81%) or cervical spine instability (76%). Cord injury occurred with cervical spine (65%) and noncervical spine (35%) procedures. Twenty-four percent of cord injuries were associated with the sitting position. Probable contributors to cord injury included anatomic abnormalities (81%), direct surgical complications (24% [38%, cervical spine procedures]), preprocedural symptomatic cord injury (19%), intraoperative head/neck position (19%), and airway management (11%). Conclusion Most cervical cord injuries occurred in the absence of traumatic injury, instability, and airway difficulties. Cervical spine procedures and/or sitting procedures appear to predominate. In the absence of instability, cervical spondylosis was the most common factor associated with cord injury.

Intubation Biomechanics: Clinical Implications of Computational Modeling of Intervertebral Motion and Spinal Cord Strain during Tracheal Intubation in an Intact Cervical Spine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin C. Gadomski ◽  
Bradley J. Hindman ◽  
Mitchell I. Page ◽  
Franklin Dexter ◽  
Christian M. Puttlitz
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Tracheal Intubation ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Maximum Force ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Injury Threshold ◽  
Force Magnitude ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Motion

Background In a closed claims study, most patients experiencing cervical spinal cord injury had stable cervical spines. This raises two questions. First, in the presence of an intact (stable) cervical spine, are there tracheal intubation conditions in which cervical intervertebral motions exceed physiologically normal maximum values? Second, with an intact spine, are there tracheal intubation conditions in which potentially injurious cervical cord strains can occur? Methods This study utilized a computational model of the cervical spine and cord to predict intervertebral motions (rotation, translation) and cord strains (stretch, compression). Routine (Macintosh) intubation force conditions were defined by a specific application location (mid-C3 vertebral body), magnitude (48.8 N), and direction (70 degrees). A total of 48 intubation conditions were modeled: all combinations of 4 force locations (cephalad and caudad of routine), 4 magnitudes (50 to 200% of routine), and 3 directions (50, 70, and 90 degrees). Modeled maximum intervertebral motions were compared to motions reported in previous clinical studies of the range of voluntary cervical motion. Modeled peak cord strains were compared to potential strain injury thresholds. Results Modeled maximum intervertebral motions occurred with maximum force magnitude (97.6 N) and did not differ from physiologically normal maximum motion values. Peak tensile cord strains (stretch) did not exceed the potential injury threshold (0.14) in any of the 48 force conditions. Peak compressive strains exceeded the potential injury threshold (–0.20) in 3 of 48 conditions, all with maximum force magnitude applied in a nonroutine location. Conclusions With an intact cervical spine, even with application of twice the routine value of force magnitude, intervertebral motions during intubation did not exceed physiologically normal maximum values. However, under nonroutine high-force conditions, compressive strains exceeded potentially injurious values. In patients whose cords have less than normal tolerance to acute strain, compressive strains occurring with routine intubation forces may reach potentially injurious values. Editor’s Perspective What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New

scholarly journals Persistent Hypertensive Response Following Dexmedetomidine Infusion in a Patient with Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

2018 ◽  
Vol 09 (03) ◽  
pp. 426-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Chavali ◽  
Shalendra Singh ◽  
Ashutosh Kaushal ◽  
Ankur Khandelwal ◽  
Hirok Roy
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spine Injuries ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spine Injuries ◽  
Dexmedetomidine Infusion

ABSTRACTWe report a 19-year-old male patient, an operated case of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for traumatic C5–C6 vertebral injury, who developed persistent hypertension following dexmedetomidine infusion in the Intensive Care Unit to enable tolerance of noninvasive ventilation mask. This unusual side effect should be borne in mind when using this drug in patients with cervical spine injuries.

scholarly journals Outcome of Cervical Spine Trauma Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at a Tertiary Government Referral Trauma Center in Nepal

2021 ◽  
pp. 219256822098070
Author(s):  
Gyanendra Shah ◽  
Gaurav Raj Dhakal ◽  
Anil Gupta ◽  
Pawan Kumar Hamal ◽  
Siddhartha Dhungana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Limited Resource ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Cervical Spine Injuries ◽  
Resource Setting ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Huge Impact

Study Design: Retrospective study. Objectives: Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event for patient and family. It has a huge impact on society because of intensive resources required to manage the patient in both acute and rehabilitation phases. With the limited resource setting in underdeveloped countries like Nepal, questions are often raised regarding whether the outcome justifies the expenses of their care. The objective was to assess the outcomes of cervical SCI patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: All cervical SCI admitted in ICU during May 2017 to August 2018 were included in this study. Demographic details, mode, morphology, and neurological level of injury, intervention performed and outcomes of ICU stay were analyzed. Results: Out of 48 patients, 36 (75%) were male and 12 female with mean age 43.9 ± 15.9 years. Fall injury was the commonest mode of injury (83.3%). Most patients presented within 1 to 3 days of injury and C5-C6 (33.3%) was the most common involved level and 75% presented with ASIA A neurology. Mechanical ventilation was required in 95.8% of the patients and 22 patients were operated upon. The average stay in ICU was 15 days and 13 patients died in the ICU. Conclusions: Majority of cervical SCI with complete motor paraplegia required ICU care. Inspite of the intensive care, a subset of these patients succumbed to the complications of the injury. Therefore, it is essential to establish trauma ICU care with specific protocols on managing cervical spine injuries.

scholarly journals Operative Treatment of Severe Cervical Spine Injuries Sustained in Youth Sports: Experience from a Pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center over a 16-Year Period

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7_suppl3) ◽  
pp. 2325967121S0008
Author(s):  
Bram P Verhofste ◽  
Daniel J Hedequist ◽  
Craig M Birch ◽  
Emily S Rademacher ◽  
Michael P Glotzbecker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Trauma Center ◽  
Youth Sports ◽  
Axial Loading ◽  
Permanent Disability ◽  
Cervical Spine Injuries ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spine Injuries ◽  
Level 1

Background: Sports-related cervical spine injuries (CSI) are devastating traumas with the potential for permanent disability. There is a paucity of literature on operative CSI sustained in youth athletes. Hypothesis/Purpose: The aims of this study aims were to review injury characteristics, surgical treatment, and outcomes of severe pediatric CSI encountered in youth sports. Methods: We reviewed children less than 18 years old with operative sports-related CSI at a pediatric Level 1 pediatric trauma center between 2004−2019. All cases underwent modern cervical spine instrumentation and fusion. SCI were stratified according to the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (ASIA). Clinical, radiographic, and surgical characteristics were compared between groups of patients with and without spinal cord injury (SCI). Results: Three thousand two hundred and thirty-one children (mean, 11.3y±4.6y) were evaluated for CSI at our institution during the 16-year period. The majority of traumas resulted from sports/recreational activities and were seen in 1365 cases (42.3%). Of these, 171/1365 patients (12.5%) were admitted and 29/1365 patients (2.1%) required surgical intervention (mean age, 14.5y±2.88y; range, 6.4y–17.8y). Sports included: eight football (28%), seven wrestling (24%), five gymnastics (17%), four diving (14%), two trampoline (7%), one hockey (3%), one snowboarding (3%), and one biking injury (3%). Mechanisms were 19 hyperflexion (65%), eight axial loading (28%), and two hyperextension injuries (7%). The majority of operative CSI were fractures (79%) and/or subaxial defects (72%). Seven patients (30%) sustained SCI and three patients (10%) spinal cord contusion or myelomalacia without neurologic deficits. The risk of SCI increased with age (15.8y vs. 14.4y; p=0.03) and axial loading mechanism (71% vs. 14%; p=0.003). Postoperatively, two SCI patients (29%) improved 1 ASIA Grade and one (14%) improved 2 ASIA Grades. Increased complications developed in SCI than patients without SCI (mean, 2.0 vs 0.1 complications; p=0.02). Clinical and radiographic fusion occurred in 24/26 patients (92%) with adequate follow-up (median, 32 months). Ten patients returned to their previous activity and nine to sports with a lower level of activity. Conclusion: The overall incidence of sports-related operative CSI is low. Age- and gender discrepancies exist, with male adolescent athletes most commonly requiring surgery. Hyperflexion injuries had a good prognosis; however, older males with axial loading CSI sustained in contact sports were at greatest risk of SCI, complications, and permanent disability. [Figure: see text][Table: see text][Table: see text]

Numerical Investigation of Spinal Cord Injury After Flexion-Distraction Injuries At the Cervical Spine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Helene Beausejour ◽  
Eric Wagnac ◽  
Pierre-Jean Arnoux ◽  
Jean-Marc Mac-Thiong ◽  
Yvan Petit
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Cervical Spinal Cord ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Von Mises Stress ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Post Traumatic

Abstract Flexion-distraction injuries frequently cause traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). Post-traumatic instability can cause aggravation of the secondary SCI during patient's care. However, there is little information on how the pattern of disco-ligamentous injury affects the SCI severity and mechanism. This study objective was to analyze how different flexion-distraction disco-ligamentous injuries affect the SCI mechanisms during post-traumatic flexion and extension. A cervical spine finite element model including the spinal cord was used and different combinations of partial or complete intervertebral disc (IVD) rupture and disruption of various posterior ligaments were modeled at C4-C5, C5-C6 or C6-C7. In flexion, complete IVD rupture combined with posterior ligamentous complex rupture was the most severe injury leading to the most extreme von Mises stress (47 to 66 kPa), principal strains p1 (0.32 to 0.41 in white matter) and p3 (-0.78 to -0.96 in white matter) in the spinal cord and to the most important spinal cord compression (35 to 48 %). The main post-trauma SCI mechanism was identified as compression of the anterior white matter at the injured level combined with distraction of the posterior spinal cord during flexion. There was also a concentration of the maximum stresses in the gray matter after injury. Finally, in extension, the injuries tested had little impact on the spinal cord. The capsular ligament was the most important structure in protecting the spinal cord. Its status should be carefully examined during patient's management.

scholarly journals The condition of cerebral hemodynamic at patients with cervical injury of spine

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 146-151
Author(s):  
T. G. Vstavskaya ◽  
V. I. Larkin ◽  
L. B. Reznik ◽  
N. I. Nazarova
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Sonography ◽  
Transcranial Doppler Sonography ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cervical Injury ◽  
Cervical Trauma ◽  
Brain Vessels ◽  
Cerebral Hemodynamic ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Cord Injury

The condition of cerebral hemodynamic at the patients who transferred a cervical trauma of a backbone during the early and intermediate periods was studied. Examined 48 patients at the age of 18—50 years with cervical injury of spine during the early and intermediate periods. Patients were grouped according anatomical particularizes of cervical cord injury and influenced at spinal cord. Besides neurologic inspection, methods of ultrasonic Doppler sonography extracranial and transcranial Doppler sonography of intracranial brain vessels. The most essential changes of a blood-groove were registered in vertebrobasilar pool in a group with a complicated inferior cervical backbone trauma (deficiency of a blood-groove on 30—32% from control group р < 0,05). At patients with not complicated inferior cervical trauma authentically changed only intracranial blood-groove on vertebralis arteries (decrease on 19—26% on the average; р < 0,05). Characteristic changes for patients with a cranivertebral trauma of hemodynamic have not been revealed. The cerebral hemodynamic during the early and intermediate periods was changed at the patients on severity lower level of a cervical trauma of a backbone.

Atlantoaxial Instability

2018 ◽  
pp. 41-48
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Parish ◽  
Domagoj Coric
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Ct Scan ◽  
Plain Film ◽  
Cord Compression ◽  
Atlantoaxial Instability ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Screw Length ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Bony Anatomy ◽  
Atlantodental Interval

There are a number of different imaging modalities that can be used to confirm atlantoaxial instability. Plain film radiographs of the cervical spine can be used to assess the atlantodental interval (ADI). Cervical CT is necessary to assess the atlantoaxial bony anatomy as well as to assess the foramen transversarium at C1 and C2. In particular, CT scan should be used to estimate screw length, medial/lateral and cranial/caudal screw trajectory. MRI can also evaluate the extent of cervical cord compression or cord injury that has occurred due to atlantoaxial instability.

scholarly journals Return to Play after Cervical Spine Injuries: A Consensus of Opinion

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 792-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. France ◽  
Michael Karsy ◽  
James S. Harrop ◽  
Andrew T. Dailey
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Return To Play ◽  
Spine Injury ◽  
Cervical Cord ◽  
Clinical Scenarios ◽  
Cord Injury

Study Design Survey. Objective Sports-related spinal cord injury (SCI) represents a growing proportion of total SCIs but lacks evidence or guidelines to guide clinical decision-making on return to play (RTP). Our objective is to offer the treating physician a consensus analysis of expert opinion regarding RTP that can be incorporated with the unique factors of a case for clinical decision-making. Methods Ten common clinical scenarios involving neurapraxia and stenosis, atlantoaxial injury, subaxial injury, and general cervical spine injury were presented to 25 spine surgeons from level 1 trauma centers for whom spine trauma is a significant component of their practice. We evaluated responses to questions about patient RTP, level of contact, imaging required for a clinical decision, and time to return for each scenario. The chi-square test was used for statistical analysis, with p < 0.05 considered significant. Results Evaluation of the surgeons’ responses to these cases showed significant consensus regarding return to high-contact sports in cases of cervical cord neurapraxia without symptoms or stenosis, surgically repaired herniated disks, and nonoperatively healed C1 ring or C2 hangman's fractures. Greater variability was found in recommendations for patients showing persistent clinical symptomatology. Conclusion This survey suggests a consensus among surgeons for allowing patients with relatively normal imaging and resolution of symptoms to return to high-contact activities; however, patients with cervical stenosis or clinical symptoms continue to be a challenge for management. This survey may serve as a basis for future clinical trials and consensus guidelines.

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