OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of missed and mismanaged injuries of the spinal cord, to identify factors contributing to a failure to recognize such injuries, and to assess the consequences of such failures. METHODS Missed and mismanaged injuries were defined using previously validated statements. All medical records and radiographs of patients with acute t...

The purpose of this study was to analyze changing etiologies for admission to a spinal cord injury center. This study was designed to retrospectively analyze the etiology of admissions to a spinal cord injury center during a 15-year period, specifically gunshot versus nongunshot wound injuries. Gunshot wounds are a well-recognized cause of spinal cord injury. In some centers, up to 52% of admis...

This article has been subjected to double blind peer review The first two articles in this series described the anatomy and physiology of the vertebral column and spinal cord, and examined the aetiology and pathophysiology of spinal cord injuries (Sheerin 2004, 2005). These provide a basis for understanding the presentation and management of spinal cord injuries. It is difficult to be prescript...

STUDY DESIGN  Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVES  To find out: (1) if the energy of trauma (high and low) influence the outcome after cervical spinal cord injury; (2) if time to decompression and degree of injury (complete and incomplete) influence the outcome after high- and low-energy cervical spinal cord injury. METHODS  Twenty-one consecutive patients with low-energy cervical spinal...

'Fine PR, Kuhlemeier KV, De Vivo MJ, Stover SL. Spinal cord injury: an epidemiological perspective. Paraplegia 1980 ;17 :237-50. 2 Castanier MM, Garard R, Berard E, Deider C, Bourret J. Epidemiology of spinal cord injury in Rhode-Alpes region, France 1970-75. Paraplegia 1979 ;16 :76-87. 3 Kurtzke JF. Epidemiology of spinal cord injury. Exp Neurol 1975;48: 163-236. 4 Krans JF, Franti CE, Riggins...

Of all spinal cord injuries, 60% involve the cervical spine. In recent years the proportion of cervical cord injuries has increased and is now the most common reason for admission to specialised spinal hospital units. A third of patients are transported to hospital without prior immobilisation of the neck. The effect of the initial trauma is irreversible, but the spinal cord is at risk by injud...

BACKGROUND Prompted by an increase in interventional pain treatments performed at the level of the cervical spine, we investigated the characteristics and patterns of injury in malpractice claims collected from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2008. METHODS We compared claims arising from cervical pain treatments with all other chronic pain claims collected from the American Society of Anesthe...

objectives: wheelchairs are the prime mobility aid of persons with spinal cord injuries. manual wheelchair propulsion puts a lot of demand on the cardiopulmonary as well as the skeletal system. the main purpose of the study was to compare the effects of both arm ergometry training and progressive resistance exercise training of upper limbs on resting heart rate and distance covered during wheel...