Spine and spinal cord injuries represent one of the most survivable, yet disabling injuries known to man. Many countries and governments have contributed great resources to study on it. With the rapid development of modern basic and clinical medicine, many effective methods can be selected to restore the mechanical stability of damaged spinal column, including several minimal invasive surgical operations. Unfortunately, up to now, there are few effective therapeutic tools for the treatment of severe spinal cord injury. But new discoveries in basic research field and progress in modern rehabilitation medicine bring us great prospects.
Humans ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; rehabilitation ; surgery ; Spinal Injuries ; rehabilitation ; surgery

Developing Countries ; Humans ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Spine ; Wounds, Gunshot/surgery*

PURPOSE: The median time from the event leading to the spinal cord injury (SCI) to the time of decompressive surgery is estimated to be 6.9 days in Iran, which is much longer than the proposed ideal time (less than 24 h) in published guidelines. The current qualitative study aimed to determine the reasons for the observed decompression surgery delay in Iran from the perspective of neurosurgeons. METHODS: This qualitative study is designed to perform content analysis on the gathered data from face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 12 Iranian neurosurgeons. RESULTS: The findings of the current study suggest that patient-related factors constitute more than half of the codes extracted from the interviews. Overall, the type of injury, presence of polytrauma, and surgeons' wrong attitude are the main factors causing delayed spinal cord decompression in Iranian patients from the perspective of neurosurgeons. Other notable factors include delay in transferring patients to the trauma center, delay in availability of necessary equipment, and scarce medical personnel. CONCLUSION In the perspective of neurosurgeons, the type of injury, presence of polytrauma, and surgeons' wrong attitude are the leading reasons for delayed decompressive surgery of individuals with SCI in Iran.
Decompression ; Humans ; Iran ; Neurosurgeons ; Spinal Cord Injuries/surgery*

Amnion ; surgery ; transplantation ; Animals ; Humans ; Neurons ; transplantation ; Spinal Cord ; transplantation ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; surgery ; Tissue Transplantation ; methods

BACKGROUNDThe incidence of spinal injury with spinal cord contusion is high in developed countries and is now growing in China. Furthermore, spinal cord injury happens mostly in young people who have a long life expectance. A large number of patients thus are wheelchair bound for the rest of their lives. Therefore, spinal cord injury has aroused great concern worldwide. Despite great efforts, recovery from spinal cord injury remains unsatisfactory. Based on the pathology of spinal cord contusion, an idea of early neurosurgical intervention has been formulated in this study.

METHODSA total of 30 patients with "complete" spinal cord injury or classified as American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA)-A were studied. Orthopedic treatment of the injured vertebra (e), internal fixation of the vertebral column, and bilateral laminectomy for epidural decompression were followed directly by neurosurgical management, including separation of the arachnoid adhesion to restore cerebrospinal fluid flow and debridement of the spinal cord necrotic tissue with concomitant intramedullary decompression. Rehabilitation started 17 days after the operation. The final outcome was evaluated after 3 months of rehabilitation. Pearson chi-square analysis was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSAll the patients recovered some ability to walk. The least recovered patients were able to walk with a wheeled weight support and help in stabilizing the weight bearing knee joint (12 cases, 40%). Thirteen patients (43%) were able to walk with a pair of crutches, a stick or without any support. The timing of the operation after injury was important. An optimal operation time window was identified at 4 - 14 days after injury.

CONCLUSIONSEarly neurosurgical intervention of spinal cord contusion followed by rehabilitation can significantly improve the locomotion of the patients. It is a new idea of a therapeutic approach for spinal cord contusion and has been proven to be very successful.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Cord ; pathology ; surgery ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; pathology ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: There are many infectious and inflammatory causes for elevated core-body temperatures, though they rarely pass 40 ℃ (104 ℉). The term "quad fever" is used for extreme hyperpyrexia in the setting of acute cervical spinal cord injuries (SCIs). The traditional methods of treating hyperpyrexia are often ineffective and reported morbidity and mortality rates approach 100%. This study aims to identify the incidence of elevated temperatures in SCIs at our institution and assess the effectiveness of using a non-invasive dry water temperature management system as a treatment modality with mortality. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of acute SCI patients requiring surgical intensive care unit admission who experienced fevers ≥ 40 ℃ (104 ℉) were compared to patients with maximum temperatures < 40 ℃. Patients ≥18 years old who sustained an acute traumatic SCI were included in this study. Patients who expired in the emergency department; had a SCI without radiologic abnormality; had neuropraxia; were admitted to any location other than the surgical intensive care unit; or had positive blood cultures were excluded. SAS 9.4 was used to conduct statistical analysis. RESULTS: Over the 9-year study period, 35 patients were admitted to the surgical intensive care unit with a verified SCI. Seven patients experienced maximum temperatures of ≥ 40 ℃. Six of those patients were treated with the dry water temperature management system with an overall mortality of 57.1% in this subgroup. The mortality rate for the 28 patients who experienced a maximum temperature of ≤ 40 ℃ was 21.4% (p = 0.16). CONCLUSION The diagnosis of quad fever should be considered in patients with cervical SCI in the presence of hyperthermia. In this study, there was no significant difference in mortality between quad fever patients treated with a dry water temperature management system versus SCI patients without quad fever. The early use of a dry water temperature management system appears to decrease the mortality rate of quad fever.
Humans ; Adolescent ; Hyperthermia ; Retrospective Studies ; Cervical Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries/surgery* ; Neck Injuries ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; Hyperthermia, Induced

Cervical Cord ; Cervical Vertebrae/surgery* ; Humans ; Spinal Cord Injuries/etiology* ; Thyroidectomy/adverse effects*

OBJECTIVETo study the outcomes of surgeries for acute central cervical spinal cord injury without cervical spine fracture or dislocation in young and middle-aged patients.

METHODSThe clinical data of 58 young and middle-aged patients with acute central cervical spinal cord injury treated in our hospital between August 2005 and August 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. Of these patients, 33 (24 males and 9 females) received surgical treatment and 25 (17 males and 8 females) had conservative therapy. The ASIA grade and ASIA motor and sensory score were used for evaluation at admission and at 14 days and 1 year after the treatment. The neurological symptoms and treatment outcomes in the two groups were evaluated.

RESULTSThe proportion of patients with ASIA grade D-E and the ASIA motor and sensory scores were all significantly higher in the surgical group than in the non-surgical treatment group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONFor young and middle-aged patients with central cervical spinal cord injury, immediate surgery can relieve the pressure on the injured spinal cord and improve the micro-circulation to promote functional recovery of the spinal cord.

Adult ; Cervical Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Joint Dislocations ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neck Injuries ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; surgery ; Spinal Fractures ; surgery ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of cervical vertebrae degeneration on traumatic cervical cord injury.

METHODSFrom January 2009 to December 2010, 24 patients with cervical cord injury without obvious fractures and dislocations were treated with operation, and their data were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 16 males and 8 females, aged from 46 to 70 years old with an average of 59.1 years. Patients were divided into light degeneration group (6 cases), moderate degeneration group (10 cases) and severe degeneration group (8 cases), according to the preoperative degenerative degree of cervical vertebrae. Preoperative neurological dysfunction and postoperative neurological recovery were compared according to the JOA scores of Japanese Orthopaedic Society; quality of life were evaluated according to SF-36 scale (36-item Short Form Health Survey, SF-36).

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 4 to 16 months with an average of 12 months. The JOA score of light, moderate, severe degeneration group were 12.1 +/- 1.5, 10.3 +/- 1.8, 7.3 +/- 1.0, respectively; and were respectively increased to 16.3 +/- 1.0, 15.3 +/- 1.4, 13.0 +/- 2.3 at the 3 months after operation. Postoperative JOA score showed the improvement rate of mid-long-term neurological level was light degeneration group (89.8%) > moderate degeneration group (76.6%) > severe degeneration group (58.8%). The results of preoperative SF-36 scale showed light degeneration group > moderate degeneration group > severe degeneration group; there was significant difference in comparison of two groups (P < 0.05 ).

CONCLUSIONCervical degeneration is an important pathologic basis and risk factor in traumatic cervical cord injury, and the degenerative degree will directly influence the injury degree and prognosis of neurological function, the clinical relationship between them should be sufficiently paid attention to.

Aged ; Cervical Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; surgery ; Spinal Diseases ; complications

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; surgery ; Spinal Fractures ; surgery ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery