scholarly journals Care of the neurogenic bladder in spinal cord injuries

Curationis ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Engel ◽  
P.J. Stevens

The carefree independence of a healthy individual has been transformed in a second of time to a future of unknown quality. Total readjustment as to values and future goals are placed alongside physical readjustments made necessary according to the degree of injury. For patients with spinal cord injuries treatment of their resultant neurogeenic bladder may be conservative or surgical. The patient may have a complete or an incomplete lesion of the spinal cord. In the complete lesion, there is no sparing of motor or sensory system below the level of the lesion. In the incomplete lesion, there may be partial preservation of either or both. On admission to a spinal injury unit, the patients has urinary retention which is initially treated conservatively prior to the onset of reflex detrustor activity and subsequent bladder assessment.

2005 ◽  
pp. 015-019
Author(s):  
Igor Ivanovich Larkin ◽  
Valery Ivanovich Larkin

Objective. To analyse the possibility of diagnostics improvement in children with spinal cord injuries. Material and Methods. The observations of 147 cases of various spinal cord injuries in children at the age of 11 months to 15 years have been analyzed. Causes of trauma, age peculiarities of spinal injury manifestations, and difficulties of clinical and radiological diagnostics are discussed. Results. Most cases of spinal cord injury in children could be revealed and adequately managed at a prehospital stage. It should be noted that the spine lesion and MRI changes do not always accompany spinal cord injury in children. This observation must be taken into account while making diagnosis. Conclusion. Electromyography is an important examination confirming spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormalities (SCIWORA syndrome) in children.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 948-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmina Castellano-Tejedor ◽  
Pilar Lusilla-Palacios

Objective: To understand and describe in a sample of caregivers of persons with spinal cord injury, their burden of care, resilience and life satisfaction and to explore the relationship between these variables. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: One Spinal Cord Injury Acute Inpatient Unit from a general hospital. Subjects: Seventy-five relatives of persons with spinal cord injuries (84% women) with a mean age of 48.55 ( SD = 12.55) years. Interventions: None. Measures: Demographics (neurological loss and severity according to the American Spinal Injury Association criteria), the Zarit Burden Interview, the Resilience Scale and the Life Satisfaction Checklist. Results: All caregivers experienced feelings of different intensities of burden (52% mild-to-moderate, 43% moderate-to-severe and 5% severe), and none of them expressed little or no burden at the assessment moment. Caregivers’ main worries were “dependence” and “the future of the injured.” Resilience was medium-to-high (mean = 141.93, SD = 23.44) for the whole sample with just a minority of them revealing low (15%) or very low resilience (7%). The highest scores were obtained in relation to “caregivers’ independence” and “meaning of their lives.” Life satisfaction scores were medium-to-high (mean = 36.6, SD = 6). These scores were not related to demographics or the severity of the injury. Zarit Burden Interview scores were negatively correlated to Resilience Scale ( r = −.370, P = .001) and Life Satisfaction Checklist scores ( r = −.412, P < .001). Conclusion: More resilient and satisfied caregivers experienced lower burden. Burden is moderate-to-high and mainly related to uncertainty about the future, caregivers’ insecurity with caregiving and dependence of the injured.


1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Ruge ◽  
Grant P. Sinson ◽  
David G. McLone ◽  
Leonard J. Cerullo

✓ Maturity of the spine and spine-supporting structures is an important variable distinguishing spinal cord injuries in children from those in adults. Cinical data are presented from 71 children aged 12 years or younger who constituted 2.7% of 2598 spinal cord-injured patients admitted to the authors' institutions from June, 1972, to June, 1986. The 47 children with traumatic spinal cord injury averaged 6.9 years of age and included 20 girls (43%). The etiology of the pediatric injuries differed from that of adult injuries in that falls were the most common causative factor (38%) followed by automobile-related injuries (20%). Ten children (21.3%) had spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA), whereas 27 (57%) had evidence of neurological injury. Complete neurological injury was seen in 19% of all traumatic pediatric spinal cord injuries and in 40% of those with SCIWORA. The most frequent level of spinal injury was C-2 (27%, 15 cases) followed by T-10 (13%, seven cases). Upon statistical examination of the data, a subpopulation of children aged 3 years or younger emerged. These very young children had a significant difference in level of injury, requirement for surgical stability, and sex distribution compared to 4- to 12-year-old children.


Author(s):  
C.H. Tator ◽  
C.F. Provvidenza ◽  
L. Lapczak ◽  
J. Carson ◽  
D. Raymond

Objectives:Study objectives were: (a) to examine the causes and incidence of major spinal cord injuries sustained by ice hockey players; and (b) to add recently reported Canadian cases to the Canadian Ice Hockey Spinal Injury Registry to determine the effectiveness of prevention efforts.Methods:The study was a review of questionnaires returned retrospectively by physicians and other sources reporting ice hockey related spinal injuries in Canada. Physicians reported on the mechanism of injury, vertebral level of injury, presence of neurologic deficit, type of event, and type of fracture.Results:Between 1943 and 1999, 271 major spinal injuries were reported in Canadian ice hockey players, of which 49.0% occurred to players 16-20 years of age. Ontario has had a disproportionately large number of injuries compared to some provinces, especially Quebec. Of the spinal cord injuries, 65.8% resulted from colliding with the boards, and 36.6% were due to players being pushed or checked from behind. The recent survey shows that there has been a decline in the number of major spinal cord injuries in Canadian ice hockey, especially those causing paralysis due to checking or pushing from behind.Conclusion:Impact of the head with the boards after being checked or pushed from behind was the most common mechanism of spinal cord injury. Injury prevention programs are becoming effective in reducing the overall number of injuries, especially those due to checking from behind. Greater awareness of the occurrence and mechanisms of injury through educational programs and rules changes by organized hockey have reduced the annual incidence of catastrophic spinal injuries in Canadian ice hockey.


Trauma ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richa Kulshrestha ◽  
Naveen Kumar ◽  
J Roy Chowdhury ◽  
Aheed Osman ◽  
W El Masri

Background Spinal cord injuries are relatively uncommon in children and evidence about long-term outcomes is limited. This study was performed to determine the frequency of common long-term complications in patients sustaining spinal injury in childhood (0–18 years) and who were followed up at a single dedicated spinal injuries centre in the UK. Method A retrospective review of clinical records of all patients injured at or less than 18 years of age between 1971 and 1999. Complications studied were renal, bowel, musculoskeletal, pressure ulcers and post-traumatic syringomyelia. Long-term social outcomes of independence, employment and driving were also assessed. Results Of 69 individuals (47 males, 22 females) the median age at injury was 17 years (range 0–18 y); 68% were older than 13 years at injury and 74% had traumatic injuries. Patients had an average duration of 27 years (12–43 years) of spinal injury – half had a neurological level of T6 and above, 80% had paraplegia and 20% had quadriplegia. Discussion Patients with both complete and incomplete spinal cord injury have minimal neurological recovery. Managing medical complications is vital as only 11.5% had normal voiding and 10.6% had normal bowel function. The incidence of skin ulcers increases with duration of spinal cord injury and scoliosis is higher in the non-traumatic injury group. Spasticity is observed in 66.6% and post-traumatic syringomyelia in 11.7%. Long-term social outcomes are good with 75% patients able to do independent care, 46% could drive and 39% managed employment or higher education. Conclusions This study documents the long-term outcomes and complications of spinal cord injuries sustained in childhood. With initial active physiological conservative management of the majority of patients, patient education and ongoing support the majority of patients achieved long-term survival and led independent and productive lives.


1990 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 894-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Zwimpfer ◽  
Mark Bernstein

✓ The hallmark of concussion injuries of the nervous system is the rapid and complete resolution of neurological deficits. Cerebral concussion has been well studied, both clinically and experimentally. In comparison, spinal cord concussion (SCC) is poorly understood. The clinical and radiological features of 19 SCC injuries in the general population are presented. Spinal cord injuries were classified as concussions if they met three criteria: 1) spinal trauma immediately preceded the onset of neurological deficits; 2) neurological deficits were consistent with spinal cord involvement at the level of injury; and 3) complete neurological recovery occurred within 72 hours after injury. Most cases involved young males, injured during athletics or due to falls. Concussion occurred at the two most unstable spinal regions, 16 involving the cervical spinal and three the thoracolumbar junction. Fifteen cases presented with combined sensorimotor deficits, while four exhibited only sensory disturbances. Many patients showed signs of recovery with the first few hours after injury and most had completely recovered within 24 hours. Only one case involved an unstable spinal injury. There was no evidence of ligamentous instability, spinal stenosis, or canal encroachment in the remaining 18 cases. Two patients, both children, suffered recurrent SCC injuries. No delayed deterioration or permanent cord injuries occurred. Spinal abnormalities that would predispose the spinal cord to a compressive injury were present in only one of the 19 cases. This suggests that, as opposed to direct cord compression, SCC may be the result of an indirect cord injury. Possible mechanisms are discussed.


Spinal Cord ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 583-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Wong ◽  
P Santullo ◽  
J O'Driscoll ◽  
A Jamous ◽  
S P Hirani ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 601-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara T Benevento ◽  
Marca L Sipski

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to review the literature related to the effects of spinal cord injuries on genitourinary, gastrointestinal, and sexual function. These important areas of function are profoundly affected by spinal cord injuries, with the effects of injury being dependent on the specific level and degree of neurologic dysfunction. Our ability to manage neurogenic bladder dysfunctions and neurogenic bowel dysfunctions has improved over the past few years; however, in general the techniques used have not significantly changed. In contrast, a significant amount of new information has been made available regarding the effects of specific neurologic injuries on sexual response, particularly female sexual response. Moreover, techniques to remediate erectile dysfunction and infertility in the male have vastly improved the fertility potential of men with spinal cord injuries. Further research is warranted in all of these areas.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. E21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony M. DiGiorgio ◽  
Rachel Tsolinas ◽  
Mohanad Alazzeh ◽  
Jenny Haefeli ◽  
Jason F. Talbott ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVESpinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur in approximately 17,000 people in the US each year. The average length of hospital stay is 11 days, and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) rates as high as 65% are reported in these patients. There is no consensus on the appropriate timing of chemical DVT prophylaxis for this critically injured patient cohort. The object of this study was to determine if low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) was safe and effective if given within 24 hours of SCI.METHODSThe Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in SCIs study is a prospective observational study conducted by the UCSF Brain and Spinal Injury Center. Protocol at this center includes administration of LMWH within 24 hours of SCI. Data were retrospectively reviewed to determine DVT rate, pulmonary embolism (PE) rate, and hemorrhagic complications.RESULTSForty-nine patients were enrolled in the study. There were 3 DVTs (6.1%), 2 PEs (4.1%), and no hemorrhagic complications. Regression modeling did not find an association between DVT and/or PE and age, American Spinal Injury Association grade, sex, race, or having undergone a neurosurgical procedure.CONCLUSIONSA standardized protocol in which LMWH is given to patients with SCI within 24 hours of injury is effective in keeping venous thromboembolism at the lower end of the reported range, and is safe, with a zero rate of adverse bleeding events.


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