A Case of Traumatic Cardiac Arrest due to SCIWORA (Spinal Cord Injury without Radiographic Abnormality).
- Author:
Young Woo SEO
1
;
Gyun Moo KIM
;
Tae Chang JANG
Author Information
1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea. emzzang@cu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Spinal cord injuries;
Sudden cardiac death;
Motorcycles
- MeSH:
Adult;
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation;
Child;
Death, Sudden, Cardiac;
Echocardiography;
Edema;
Heart Arrest*;
Hemothorax;
Humans;
Intubation, Intratracheal;
Longitudinal Ligaments;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging;
Male;
Middle Aged;
Motorcycles;
Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest;
Paraplegia;
Pneumothorax;
Prognosis;
Quadriplegia;
Rib Fractures;
Shock;
Spinal Cord;
Spinal Cord Injuries;
Spine
- From:Journal of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine
2015;26(4):337-340
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) is a rare injury and reported less frequently in adults than children. The symptoms and prognosis of SCIWORA are associated with injury level of the spinal cord, neurologic impairment, resolution rate, etc. High level injury of the spinal cord can lead to development of quadriplegia, paraplegia, spinal shock, cardiac dysfunction, and respiratory arrest. However initial presenting cardiac arrest is extremely rare in SCIWORA. Therefore we report on a cardiac arrest patient due to SCIWORA after a motorcycle accident. A 50-year-old male was an out of hospital cardiac arrest in a transferred hospital. At the time of local hospital arrival, he was in cardiac arrest state. Therefore he received endotracheal intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 5 minutes, and spontaneous circulation returned. In our hospital, he underwent whole body computed tomography and echocardiography. He had a fibular fracture and simple multiple rib fractures without pneumothorax and hemothorax. Magnetic resonance imaging showed spinal cord edema from the cervicomedullary junction to C3 level and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament at C2-3 level without bony abnormality. In unknown cause of traumatic cardiac arrest, high level spinal cord injury and further evaluation of the cervical spine may be needed.
