Spinal cord infarction

Abstract

Spinal cord ischemia is an uncommon disease, varying in its presentation, severity, and outcome. Spinal cord ischemia accounts for approximately 14 % of all acute myelopathies and approximately 1-2 % of all vascular neurologic diseases. The severity of the injury depends on several factors including acute hemodynamic instability and poor perfusion, oxygen delivery and demand, local metabolic rate, and the patients' baseline collateral circulation. Spinal cord ischemia can cause a variety of symptoms and neurological defi cits which depend on the affected spinal cord level and artery involved. It is characterized generally by an acute onset which is often preceded by sudden and severe back pain typically at the level of the lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging is the modality of choice for the diagnosis.