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15 - Acute Spinal Cord Compression

from Section 3 - Neurological Emergencies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2023

By
Cristal Cristia
Edited by
Kaushal Shah  and
Jarone Lee
Edited in association with
Clark G. Owyang  and
Benjamin Christian Renne
Kaushal Shah
Affiliation:
Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York
Jarone Lee
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
Clark G. Owyang
Affiliation:
Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York
Benjamin Christian Renne
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
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Summary

  • Acute spinal cord compression results from impingement on the spinal cord due to a variety of etiologies, including neoplasm, hemorrhage, infection or other structural abnormality at any vertebral level.

  • Any patient who presents with a history of trauma, intravenous drug use (IVDU) or immunocompromised state with associated neurological deficit and/or back pain should be evaluated for acute cord compression.

  • Neoplastic disease is rarely confined to a single location; therefore, the entire spine should be evaluated when metastatic disease is suspected.

Keywords

back painneurological symptomsweakness
Type
Chapter
Information
Practical Emergency Resuscitation and Critical Care , pp. 131 - 138
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

Fehlings, MG, Cadotte, DW, Fehlings, LN. A series of systematic reviews on the treatment of acute spinal cord injury: A foundation for best medical practice. J Neurotrauma 2011;28:1329–1333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
George, R, Jeba, J, Ramkumar, G, et al. Interventions for the treatment of metastatic extradural spinal cord compression in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2008;4:CD006716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markandaya, M, Stein, DM, Menaker, J. Acute treatment options for spinal cord injury. Curr Treat Options Neurol 2011;14:175–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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