Are subjects with spondylotic cervical cord encroachment at increased risk of cervical spinal cord injury after minor trauma?
Language English Country England, Great Britain Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PubMed
20587498
DOI
10.1136/jnnp.2009.198945
PII: jnnp.2009.198945
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- MeSH
- Unconsciousness complications MeSH
- Pain etiology MeSH
- Decompression, Surgical MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Electrodiagnosis MeSH
- Spinal Fractures epidemiology MeSH
- Cohort Studies MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging MeSH
- Follow-Up Studies MeSH
- Peripheral Nervous System Diseases pathology MeSH
- Gait Disorders, Neurologic etiology MeSH
- Tomography, X-Ray Computed MeSH
- Spinal Cord Injuries epidemiology MeSH
- Disability Evaluation MeSH
- Retrospective Studies MeSH
- Risk MeSH
- Aged, 80 and over MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Spondylosis complications epidemiology MeSH
- Muscle Weakness etiology MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Aged, 80 and over MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
The aim of the study was to analyse the risk of symptomatic myelopathy after minor trauma in patients with asymptomatic spondylotic cervical spinal cord encroachment (ASCCE). In a cohort of 199 patients with ASCCE, previously followed prospectively in a study investigating progression into symptomatic myelopathy, the authors looked retrospectively for traumatic episodes that may have involved injury to the cervical spine. A questionnaire and data file analysis were employed to highlight whatever hypothetical relationship might emerge with the development of symptomatic myelopathy. Fourteen traumatic episodes in the course of a follow-up of 44 months (median) were recorded in our group (who had been instructed to avoid risky activities), with no significant association with the development of symptomatic myelopathy (found in 45 cases). Only three minor traumatic events without fracture of the cervical spine were found among the symptomatic myelopathy cases, with no chronological relationship between trauma and myelopathy. Furthermore, 56 traumatic spinal cord events were found before the diagnosis of cervical cord encroachment was established, with no correlation to either type of compression (discogenic vs osteophytic). In conclusion, the risk of spinal cord injury after minor trauma of the cervical spine in patients with ASCCE appeared to be low in our cohort provided risky activities in these individuals are restricted. Implementation of preventive surgical decompression surgery into clinical practice in these individuals should be postponed until better-designed studies provide proof enough for it to take precedence over a conservative approach.
References provided by Crossref.org
Walk and Run Test in Patients with Degenerative Compression of the Cervical Spinal Cord
