Pulmonary Complications of Acute Spinal Cord Injuries

Neurosurgery ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Reines ◽  
Robert C. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Forced Vital Capacity ◽  
Vital Capacity ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Pulmonary Complications ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Respiratory Problems ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Mean

Abstract The records of 123 consecutive patients admitted with spinal cord injury were examined for the presence of pulmonary complications. Forty-nine had tetraplegia and 23 had paraplegia; the remainder suffered a variety of neurological deficits. Multiple injuries were encountered in 36 patients. Fifty-three pulmonary complications were noted in 44 (35.7%) patients. The most common problems were atelectasis and pneumonia. There were 22 (18%) deaths. Fourteen deaths were related to pulmonary complications. The mean age of patients who died was 52 ± 13 (SE) compared to 28 ± 12 for survivors. A mean forced vital capacity (FVC) of 1127 ± 410 cc in patients suffering respiratory difficulties compared to a FVC of 1865 ± 85 cc in patients without complications (P < 0.001). Oxygenation (PaO2 90 ± 19 torr) was normal in patients without respiratory problems and was abnormal in patients developing problems (PaO2 76 ± 30 torr; P < 0.05). Twenty patients were treated with a rotating bed. The complication rate of patients on the bed was only 10%. In conclusion, respiratory problems remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in spinal cord injury. The forced vital capacity, blood oxygen tension, and age are predictors of pulmonary complications. The use of a multidisciplinary approach and a rotating bed may minimize these problems.

scholarly journals Improvement in Pulmonary Function with Short-term Rehabilitation Treatment in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Cheol Shin ◽  
Eun Young Han ◽  
Kye Hee Cho ◽  
Sang Hee Im
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Pulmonary Function ◽  
Forced Vital Capacity ◽  
Respiratory Muscle ◽  
Vital Capacity ◽  
Respiratory Muscle Training ◽  
Muscle Training ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Cord Injury

AbstractCervical and upper thoracic spinal cord injury causes impairments in respiratory muscle performance, leading to variable degrees of pulmonary dysfunction and rendering deep breathing difficult for affected individuals. In this retrospective study, we investigated the effects of self-directed respiratory muscle training in this context by assessing pulmonary function relative to spinal cord injury characteristics. A total of 104 spinal cord injury patients (tetraplegia/paraplegia; 65/39, acute/subacute/chronic; 14/42/48) were admitted for short-term (4–8 weeks) in-patient clinical rehabilitation. Initial evaluation revealed a compromised pulmonary function with a percentage of predicted value of 62.0 and 57.5 in forced vital capacity in supine and forced vital capacity in sitting positions, respectively. Tetraplegic patients had more compromised pulmonary function compared with paraplegic patients. At follow-up evaluation, the percentage of predicted value of forced vital capacity in supine and sitting position improved overall on average by 11.7% and 12.7%, respectively. The peak cough flow improved by 22.7%. All assessed pulmonary function parameters improved significantly in all subgroups, with the greatest improvements found in patients with tetraplegia and subacute spinal cord injury. Therefore, short-term self-directed respiratory muscle training should be incorporated into all spinal cord injury rehabilitation regimens, especially for patients with tetraplegia and subacute spinal cord injury, as well as those with chronic spinal cord injury.

scholarly journals Demographic pattern, clinical profile and outcome of traumatic spinal cord injuries at a tertiary care hospital

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Aswani Kumar ◽  
B.V. Subrahmanyam ◽  
S.V. Phanidra ◽  
S. Satish Kumar ◽  
P.N. Harish ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Hospital Stay ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Lumbar Region ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics

Abstract Background: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is recognized as a serious public health problem resulting in significant morbidity, mortality and permanent disability. The present study is aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics and outcome of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury in rural tertiary referral care center form South India. Material and methods: The present study was conducted at Narayana Medical College and Hospital, Nellore. All patients admitted and managed for traumatic spinal cord injury were retrieved and data collected in a pre-designed proforma. Patient characteristics, details of etiology, mechanism of injury, level of injury, extent of neurological deficits, details of investigations, details of management and immediate outcome were recorded. Results: A total 152 patients were included in the present study. The mean age was 38.45 years and majority the patients were young adult males. The mean hospital stay was 19.12 days. 71.7% percent patients were non-agriculture workers (mainly involved in construction work) and 28.3% patients were farmers. 61.2% of the patients sustained injuries due to fall from height and 34.2% patients sustained injuries due road traffic accidents. Cervical spine injuries were most common (44.1%), followed by thoraco-lumbar region (36.8%) and dorsal spinal region (19.1%). 9 patients expired in post-injury during hospital stay and all of them had complete cervical spinal cord injury. All patients received aggressive rehabilitation care. Conclusion: In accordance with the literature our results reflect that traumatic spinal cord injuries affect young population and can leave these persons with significant functional and physical morbidity. The major limitation of the study is that it is a single institution based and may not reflect the true spectrum of traumatic spinal cord injuries in the population.

scholarly journals Rat Spinal Cord Injury Experimental Model

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Šulla ◽  
V. Balik ◽  
J. Petrovičová ◽  
V. Almášiová ◽  
K. Holovská ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Experimental Models ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Survival Times ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Female Wistar Rats ◽  
Trauma Model

Abstract Spinal cord injuries (SCI) with their tragic consequences belong to the most serious pathological conditions. That is why they have stimulated basic research workers, as well as health care practitioners, to search for an effective treatment for decades. Animal experimental models have been essential in these efforts. We have jointly decided to test and standardize one of the spinal cord injury compression models in rats. Twentythree adult female Wistar rats weighing 250-320 g were utilized. Employing general anaesthesia along with a mixture of sevoflurane with O2, 2 rats (sham controls) had their vertebral arch of either Th8 or Th9 vertebra removed (laminectomy). The other 21 experimental rats with similar laminectomies were divided into 3 subgroups (n = 7) which received compression impact forces of 30, 40 or 50 g (subgroups-1, -2, and -3, respectively) applied on their exposed spinal medulla for 15 minutes. All rats were observed for 28 days after the experimental procedure and their motor functions were assessed by the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) test 6 hours, 7, 21 and 28 days after the simulated SCI. All 23 rats survived the surgical procedures. The control rats were without any neurological deficits. There were, in every experimental subgroup, 1 or 2 rats with extreme BBB scores. So the rats with the maximum and minimum BBB values were excluded. Then, the results acquired in the residual 5 rats in each group were averaged and statistically analysed by the Tukey multiple comparisons test. Statistically significant intersubgroup differences were found at all survival times equal to or longer than 7 post SCI days. The goal of the SCI experiment was to generate a reproducible and reliable, submaximal spinal cord trauma model. The statistical analyses demonstrated that this objective was best achieved in the subgroup-2 with the 40 g compression.

scholarly journals Cough Threshold in People With Spinal Cord Injuries

1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (11) ◽  
pp. 1026-1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwan-Hwa Lin ◽  
Yih-Loong Lai ◽  
Huey-Dong Wu ◽  
Tyng-Quey Wang ◽  
Yen-Ho Wang
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Citric Acid ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Acoustic Response ◽  
Sensitivity Training ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background and Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the cough threshold between people with and without spinal cord injury (SCI). The effect of smoking on cough threshold was also investigated. Subjects. The participants were 26 people with SCI (15 smokers, 11 nonsmokers) and 18 people without SCI (9 smokers, 9 nonsmokers). Methods. Aerosols of citric acid were delivered with incremental doubling concentration from 62.5 mmol to 2 mol. Cough threshold was defined as the first concentration of citric acid that induced at least 2 coughs, which is associated with large chest excursion and concurrently acoustic response. Results. The mean cough thresholds of smokers and nonsmokers with SCI (209 and 417 mmol, respectively) were lower than those of smokers and nonsmokers without SCI (467 and 1,072 mmol, respectively). The mean citric acid cough thresholds decreased in smokers with and without SCI when compared with nonsmokers with and without SCI. Conclusion and Discussion. The cough sensitivity increased in subjects with SCI, and smoking could also increase the cough sensitivity. Training about the frequency and technique of cough in patients with SCI should be carefully monitored.

scholarly journals Forced vital capacity in two large outpatient populations with chronic spinal cord injury

Spinal Cord ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 263-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
WS Linn ◽  
AM Spungen ◽  
H Gong, Jr ◽  
RH Adkins ◽  
A Bauman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Forced Vital Capacity ◽  
Vital Capacity ◽  
Chronic Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cord Injury

Recurrent spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormalities in children

1988 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian F. Pollack ◽  
Dachling Pang ◽  
Robert Sclabassi
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Dorsal Column ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Spinal Instability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Flexion Extension ◽  
Cord Injury

✓ Spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality is a well-known entity in the pediatric age group. Agerelated elasticity of the vertebral ligaments as well as immaturity of the osseous structures in the pediatric spine allow momentary subluxation in response to deforming forces. The resultant neurological injuries range from transient dorsal column dysfunction to complete cord transection. Between 1960 and 1985, 42 such injuries were treated at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Management of these radiographically occult spinal cord injuries consisted of cervical immobilization for 2 months in a hard collar and restriction of contact sports. Recurrent cord injury occurred in eight cases during the 2-month immobilization period. A clearly defined traumatic episode was identified in seven of the eight patients, although in four children the recurrent trauma to the spine was trivial. Five of the children removed their collars briefly before the second injury, and two children incurred reinjury with the hard collar in place. The remaining child was too young for hard-collar immobilization, and recurrent neurological deterioration occurred during sleep. Serial flexion-extension films failed to detect frank instability in any of the eight cases. The children most susceptible to reinjury were those who sustained mild or transient neurological deficits from an initial cord injury and who rapidly resumed normal activities. Radiographically occult spinal instability resulting from the initial injury to the vertebral and paravertebral soft tissues presumably made these children vulnerable to recurrent spinal cord injury, often from otherwise insignificant trauma. During the last 21 months, 12 additional children have been managed with a more stringent protocol combining neck immobilization in a rigid cervical brace for 3 months and restriction of both contact and noncontact sports, together with a major emphasis on patient compliance. With this new protocol, no recurrent cord injuries have been documented.

Rehabilitation of the canine patient following spinal cord injury: a practical guide

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Cheryl Corral
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Spinal Injury ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Practical Guide ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Physical Therapies

This article forms part of a series exploring the rehabilitation of the canine shoulder, elbow, back, hip and stifle following injury or disease. Discussed here are different rehabilitation techniques used to address neurological deficits, pain and weakness following spinal injury, including physical therapies, electrotherapies and acupuncture.

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