Management of acute spinal cord injury: A summary of the evidencepertaining to the acute management, operative and non-operative management

Abstract

Acute traumatic spinal cord injury is often a lifechanging and devastating eventwith considerable mortality and morbidity. Over half a million people suffer fromtraumatic spinal cord injury annually with the majority resulting from road trafficaccidents or falls. The Individual, societal and economic costs are enormous. Initial recognition and treatment of acute traumatic spinal cord injury are crucialto limit secondary injury to the spinal cord and to provide patients with the bestchance of some functional recovery. This article is an overview of themanagement of the acute traumatic spinal cord injury patient presenting to theemergency department. We review the initial assessment, criteria for imaging andclearing the spine, and evaluate the literature to determine the optimum timing ofsurgery and the role of non-surgical treatment in patients presenting with acutespinal cord injury.