TY - JOUR
T1 - How much time is necessary to confirm the diagnosis of permanent complete cervical spinal cord injury?
AU - Kawano, Osamu
AU - Maeda, Takeshi
AU - Mori, Eiji
AU - Takao, Tsuneaki
AU - Sakai, Hiroaki
AU - Masuda, Muneaki
AU - Morishita, Yuichiro
AU - Hayashi, Tetsuo
AU - Kubota, Kensuke
AU - Kobayakawa, Kazu
AU - Kaneyama, Hironari
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Spinal Cord Society.
PY - 2020/3/1
Y1 - 2020/3/1
N2 - Study design: Retrospective chart audits. Objective: To investigate the optimal timing at which permanent complete cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) can be confirmed when evaluating paralysis caused by traumatic CSCI. Setting: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spinal Injuries Center, Japan. Methods: Two-hundred and three patients with CSCI that was classified with an American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) grade A (AIS A) within 72 h of the initial diagnosis of traumatic CSCI were included in the present study. Neurological data from the time of the initial diagnosis to 1 year after the injury were extracted. The number of those with recovery from AIS A and changes of AIS in the recovery were examined. Results: Thirty-five of 203 (17%) patients whose injuries were initially classified with an AIS A showed recovery from AIS A. Thirty-four of 35 (97%) patients showed recovery from AIS A within 8 weeks after injury. Conclusion: If CSCI patients with AIS A have not recovered by 8 weeks, the likelihood that they will recover from AIS A is marginal. However, this conversely means that we must consider the possibility that a patient with a traumatic CSCI classified with an AIS A may still show recovery from AIS A within the first 8 weeks after injury.
AB - Study design: Retrospective chart audits. Objective: To investigate the optimal timing at which permanent complete cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) can be confirmed when evaluating paralysis caused by traumatic CSCI. Setting: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spinal Injuries Center, Japan. Methods: Two-hundred and three patients with CSCI that was classified with an American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) grade A (AIS A) within 72 h of the initial diagnosis of traumatic CSCI were included in the present study. Neurological data from the time of the initial diagnosis to 1 year after the injury were extracted. The number of those with recovery from AIS A and changes of AIS in the recovery were examined. Results: Thirty-five of 203 (17%) patients whose injuries were initially classified with an AIS A showed recovery from AIS A. Thirty-four of 35 (97%) patients showed recovery from AIS A within 8 weeks after injury. Conclusion: If CSCI patients with AIS A have not recovered by 8 weeks, the likelihood that they will recover from AIS A is marginal. However, this conversely means that we must consider the possibility that a patient with a traumatic CSCI classified with an AIS A may still show recovery from AIS A within the first 8 weeks after injury.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41393-019-0366-1
DO - 10.1038/s41393-019-0366-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 31619753
AN - SCOPUS:85073953409
VL - 58
SP - 284
EP - 289
JO - Spinal Cord
JF - Spinal Cord
SN - 1362-4393
IS - 3
ER -