Evaluation of cervical spine injury and predicting neurological deficit by magnetic resonance imaging

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
Sushant H Bhadane ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Mr Imaging ◽  
Neurological Deficit ◽  
Spine Injury ◽  
Cervical Spine Injuries ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spine Injuries ◽  
Posterior Element

Background: The consequences of cervical spine injuries range from simple neck pain, to quadriplegia, or even death. MR imaging has become part of the diagnostic and prognostic tools for spinal cord injury. Aim: To prospectively evaluate cervical spine injuries by MR imaging and to find out association of MR imaging findings with degree of neurological deficit. Material and Methods: Descriptive longitudinal hospital based study was conducted on 30 patients with known or suspected cervical spine trauma who presented to the emergency department. Results: Mean age of the cases was about 42 years, with female to male ratio of 1:6.5. C6-C7 spinal level was most commonly involved. Proportions complete spinal cord injury (CSCI), incomplete spinal cord injury (ISCI) and neurologically normal (NN) were 23.33%, 60% and 16.67% respectively. Out of 12 MRI findings, cord haemorrhage, contusion, posterior element fracture, disc injury, prevertebral hematoma, subluxation and soft tissue injury was statistically associated with degree of neurological deficit. Cord contusion, cord haemorrhage and posterior element fracture were potential predictors of neurological status at admission. Cord contusion, cord haemorrhage and subluxation were potential predictors at 3 months. Conclusion: MRI proved a pivotal role in the diagnosis of SCIs, deciding prompt management and predicting neurological deficit and prognosis of neurological recovery. So, MRI is an excellent diagnostic modality for the evaluation of spinal trauma and predicting the degree of neurological deficit and recovery.

Management of Athletic Injuries of the Cervical Spine and Spinal Cord

Neurosurgery ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian E. Bailes ◽  
Mark N. Hadley ◽  
Matthew R. Quigley ◽  
Volker K.H. Sonntag ◽  
Leonard J. Cerullo
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Cervical Spine Injuries ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spine Injuries

Abstract Injuries to the cervical spine among athletes present inherent difficulties, especially in advising for return to contact sports. Experience with the acute care of 63 patients who sustained cervical spine injuries while participating in organized sporting events is analyzed. Forty-five patients had permanent injury to the vertebral colum n and/or spinal cord, while 18 suffered only transient spinal cord symptoms. Football mishaps accounted for the highest number of injuries, followed by wrestling and gymnastics. Twelve patients had complete spinal cord injury, 14 patients had incomplete spinal cord injury, and 19 patients had injury to the vertebral column alone. The majority of the spinal cord lesions occurred at the C4 and C5 levels, while bony injuries of C4 through C6 predominated. Twenty-five patients required surgical stabilization, and 20 were treated with orthosis only. There was no instance of associated systemic injuries, and hospital complications were few. The mean time of hospitalization was 19.1 days for injured patients and 3.0 days for patients with transient symptoms. A classification was developed to assist in the management of these patients: Type 1 athletic injuries to the cervical spine are those that cause neurological injury; patients with Type 1 injuries are not allowed to participate in contact, competitive sporting events. Type 2 injuries consist of transient neurological deficits without radiological evidence of abnormalities; these injuries usually do not prohibit further participation in contact sports unless they become repetitive. Type 3 injuries are those that cause radiological abnormality alone; these represent a heterogeneous group. The athlete with fractures involving a significant structural portion of the vertebral column, ligament instability, spinal cord contusion, or congenital cervical stenosis, is advised not to return to contact sports. Other radiological abnormalities, such as compromise of the ligaments, congenital fusion, degenerative disease, and herniated cervical disc require individual consideration. The rationale for treatment and advising for participation in sports are discussed. We believe that this classification of sports injuries offers clinicians a framework within which to make rational judgments and recommendations in the management of athletes with cervical spine injuries.

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 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]

Association of Head Trauma with Cervical Spine Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, or Both

1999 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 450-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideo Iida ◽  
Shigekuni Tachibana ◽  
Takao Kitahara ◽  
Shigeharu Horiike ◽  
Takashi Ohwada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Head Trauma ◽  
Cervical Spine Injury ◽  
Spine Injury ◽  
Cord Injury

Regional injuries of the cervical spine: sports-related anatomical, pathophysiological, and clinical perspectives

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezequiel Gherscovici ◽  
Eli Baron ◽  
Alexander Vaccaro
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Spinal Column ◽  
Neurological Injury ◽  
Spine Injury ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Cervical Spine Injuries ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Athletic Field

Cervical spine injuries occur infrequently on the athletic field (Dietz and Lillegard 1999). Nevertheless, sporting events have been reported as the fourth most common cause of spinal cord injury (behind motor vehicle collisions, assaults, and falls) (NSCISC 2006). The possibility of catastrophic cervical spine injury exists with involvement in sports, where it can be defined as ‘structural distortion of the cervical spinal column associated with actual or potential damage to the spinal cord’. This may result in irreversible neurological injury to the athlete (...

scholarly journals Successful surgical repair and recovery in a 2-week-old infant after birth-related cervical fracture dislocation

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-20
Author(s):  
Sara Saleh ◽  
Kyle I. Swanson ◽  
Taryn Bragg
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Fracture Dislocation ◽  
Interdisciplinary Management ◽  
Cervical Fracture ◽  
Spine Stabilization ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Spine Injuries

Cervical spine injuries are the most common spine injuries in the pediatric population. The authors present the youngest known patient who underwent cervical spine fusion to repair birth trauma–induced cervical fracture dislocation, resulting in spondyloptosis and spinal cord injury. A 2-week-old boy was found to have spondyloptosis and spinal cord injury after concerns arose from reduced movement of the extremities. The patient’s birth was complicated by undiagnosed abdominal dystocia, which led to cervical distraction injury. At 15 days of age, the boy underwent successful C-5 corpectomy, with anterior C4–6 and posterior C2–7 arthrodesis, using an autologous rib graft for a C-5 fracture dislocation. MRI performed 2 weeks postoperatively revealed significant improvement in the alignment of the spinal canal. The patient was discharged from the hospital in a custom Minerva brace and underwent close follow-up in addition to occupational therapy and physical therapy. At the latest follow-up 4.5 years later, the patient was able to walk and ride a tricycle by himself. The authors describe the patient’s surgery and the challenges faced in achieving successful repair and cervical spine stabilization in such a young patient. The authors suggest that significant neurological recovery after spinal cord injury in infants is possible with appropriate, timely, and interdisciplinary management.

scholarly journals Acute traumatic unilateral cervical C4–C5 facet dislocation in pediatric toddlers

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wongthawat Liawrungrueang ◽  
Rattanaporn Chamnan ◽  
Weera Chaiyamongkol ◽  
Piyawat Bintachitt
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Spine ◽  
Neurological Deficit ◽  
Closed Reduction ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Spine Injury ◽  
Neck Muscle ◽  
Cervical Spine Injuries ◽  
Facet Dislocation ◽  
Cord Injury

Abstract Background The present study is to highlight the challenges in managing cervical spine injuries in toddlers (less than 4 years of age) without neurological deficit. Cases of unilateral cervical C4–C5 facet dislocation in toddlers are very rare. Case presentation A 3-year-old girl suffered cervical spine injury after a motor vehicle collision with unilateral C4–C5 facet dislocation without neurological deficit. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no spinal cord injury, Frankel grade E. Initial management was cervical spine protection. Definite treatment and complication were discussed with the patient’s parents before closed reduction maneuver with minerva cast was applied under sedation. The patient showed no complication after closed reduction and the cervical spine had aligned well in radiographs. The minerva cast was removed at 8 weeks, at which point neck muscle stretching rehabilitation program started. At one-year follow up, the child was asymptomatic, had full active cervical motion and good function. In radiographs, the cervical spine had normal alignment and was healed. Conclusions Unilateral cervical facet dislocation in toddlers is very rare. Closed reduction maneuver and the minerva cast applied were optional in this case. The parents were highly satisfied with the effective treatment and outcome.

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