OBJECTIVE To analyze risk factors for respiratory failure with tetraplegia after acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI). PATIENTS AND METHODS Total 180 tetraplegia cases after acute traumatic CSCI treated in Shanghai Changzheng Hospital from 2001 to 2011 were reviewed retrospectively and the frequency of respiratory failure in these patients were analyzed against the factors inclu...

Abstaract: Objective: To investigate whether the risk profile for coronary heart disease (CHD) is more favorable in individuals with high tetraplegia (neurological lesion above C4) than in healthy controls. (Because inactivity has a negative effect on the lipid profile.) Design: Case-control study. Setting: This research was performed in the rehabilitation hospital for the spinal cord injured p...

OBJECTIVE To highlight an unusual cause of autonomic dysreflexia in tetraplegia and present a review of the literature. STUDY DESIGN Case report of a patient in Stoke Mandeville Hospital, UK. METHODS A 33-year-old woman with C6 incomplete tetraplegia presented with signs and symptoms of autonomic dysreflexia attributed to breastfeeding. RESULTS Cessation of breastfeeding was effective in ...

during the last few decades, focus of rehabilitation outcome has been redirected to the lifetime monitoring of quality of life. the purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in quality of life perceptions between participants with spinal cord injury and participants of typical population.this cross-sectional controlled study of 100 adults aged 18-65 years was based on two questio...

The specific compliance of the chest wall and lungs combined was measured in eight patients with stable tetraplegia. Expiration was impeded with a series of spring-loaded resistances, and end-expiratory pressures plotted against changes in chest wall volume at end-expiration. An optical contour mapping system was used to partition changes in chest wall volume into rib cage and abdominal compone...

Two patients with central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) were studied with diffusion-weighted MR imaging 1 week after onset of tetraplegia. In both patients, affected white matter showed hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted images associated with a decrease in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. In one patient studied serially, ADC values normalized by 3 weeks after tetraplegia. Early in t...

Restoration of elbow extension, grasp, key pinch, and release are major goals in low-level tetraplegia. Traditionally, these functions are achieved using tendon transfers. In this case these goals were achieved using nerve transfers. We present a 21-year-old man with a C6 level of tetraplegia. The left upper limb was treated 6 months after injury with a triple nerve transfer. A teres minor nerv...

A 50-year-old woman was brought to our emergency department as she could no longer walk, even to the bathroom. The weakness in her legs began 5 days earlier and was accompanied by diffuse muscle discomfort. She reported that her arms were weak as well. A physician had administered some ‘shots’ on the day prior to admission to alleviate a suspected neurological problem. A similar constellation o...