Rehabilitation of the canine patient following spinal cord injury: a practical guide

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Cheryl Corral

This article forms part of a series exploring the rehabilitation of the canine shoulder, elbow, back, hip and stifle following injury or disease. Discussed here are different rehabilitation techniques used to address neurological deficits, pain and weakness following spinal injury, including physical therapies, electrotherapies and acupuncture.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. e233077
Author(s):  
Patricio III Espinoza Dumlao ◽  
Samuel Grozman

Odontoid fractures are injuries that can either be benign or devastatingly progress to quadriplegia and significant morbidity and mortality. Management is not clear cut for patients who already present late and with severe neurological deficits. We present a case of a type 2 odontoid fracture with associated complete spinal cord injury (American Spinal Injury Association A) initially untreated for 3 months but was subsequently managed with posterior decompression, instrumentation and occipitocervical fusion. The patient fully recovered all deficits and is independent of activities of daily living.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-217
Author(s):  
Danilo Lopes Castro ◽  
Gustavo Fernandes Leobas ◽  
Maíse Santana Tolentino Marciano Araujo ◽  
Itágores Hoffman Lopes Sousa Coutinho ◽  
Márcio Antônio de Sousa Figueiredo

Objective:Traumatic spinal cord injury is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, mainly related to automobile accidents. It was decided to establish a clinical-epidemiological profile of spinal cord injury (SCI) in Palmas, Brazil.Method:Prospective study at the Public General Hospital of Palmas (HGPP), including all patients admitted in this hospital from January 2011 to February 2012.Results:They refer to 59 patients, of whom 81.4% were men and 47.4% of the victims had up to 40 years. The main mechanism of injury was motor vehicle accidents involving motorcycles. Clinically, the vertebral segment C4-C7 was the most damaged, and most patients were admitted with spinal injury and no neurological deficit (Frankel E).Conclusions:Primary involvement of young men in working age, trauma mainly due to car accidents that are usually associated with the use of alcoholic beverages. Patients admitted with more severe neurological deficits have evolved to milder impairments after conservative or surgical treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek M. Kwiecien ◽  
Liqiang Zhang ◽  
Jordan R. Yaron ◽  
Lauren N. Schutz ◽  
Christian J. Kwiecien-Delaney ◽  
...  

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in massive secondary damage characterized by a prolonged inflammation with phagocytic macrophage invasion and tissue destruction. In prior work, sustained subdural infusion of anti-inflammatory compounds reduced neurological deficits and reduced pro-inflammatory cell invasion at the site of injury leading to improved outcomes. We hypothesized that implantation of a hydrogel loaded with an immune modulating biologic drug, Serp-1, for sustained delivery after crush-induced SCI would have an effective anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effect. Rats with dorsal column SCI crush injury, implanted with physical chitosan-collagen hydrogels (CCH) had severe granulomatous infiltration at the site of the dorsal column injury, which accumulated excess edema at 28 days post-surgery. More pronounced neuroprotective changes were observed with high dose (100 µg/50 µL) Serp-1 CCH implanted rats, but not with low dose (10 µg/50 µL) Serp-1 CCH. Rats treated with Serp-1 CCH implants also had improved motor function up to 20 days with recovery of neurological deficits attributed to inhibition of inflammation-associated tissue damage. In contrast, prolonged low dose Serp-1 infusion with chitosan did not improve recovery. Intralesional implantation of hydrogel for sustained delivery of the Serp-1 immune modulating biologic offers a neuroprotective treatment of acute SCI.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Charlotte Y. Adegeest ◽  
Jort A. N. van Gent ◽  
Janneke M. Stolwijk-Swüste ◽  
Marcel W. M. Post ◽  
William P. Vandertop ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE Secondary health conditions (SHCs) are long-term complications that frequently occur due to traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) and can negatively affect quality of life in this patient population. This study provides an overview of the associations between the severity and level of injury and the occurrence of SHCs in tSCI. METHODS A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Embase that retrieved 44 studies on the influence of severity and/or level of injury on the occurrence of SHCs in the subacute and chronic phase of tSCI (from 3 months after trauma). The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. RESULTS In the majority of studies, patients with motor-complete tSCI (American Spinal Injury Association [ASIA] Impairment Scale [AIS] grade A or B) had a significantly increased occurrence of SHCs in comparison to patients with motor-incomplete tSCI (AIS grade C or D), such as respiratory and urogenital complications, musculoskeletal disorders, pressure ulcers, and autonomic dysreflexia. In contrast, an increased prevalence of pain was seen in patients with motor-incomplete injuries. In addition, higher rates of pulmonary infections, spasticity, and autonomic dysreflexia were observed in patients with tetraplegia. Patients with paraplegia more commonly suffered from hypertension, venous thromboembolism, and pain. CONCLUSIONS This review suggests that patients with a motor-complete tSCI have an increased risk of developing SHCs during the subacute and chronic stage of tSCI in comparison with patients with motor-incomplete tSCI. Future studies should examine whether systematic monitoring during rehabilitation and the subacute and chronic phase in patients with motor-complete tSCI could lead to early detection and potential prevention of SHCs in this population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-105
Author(s):  
Naifeng Kuang ◽  
Xiaoyu Wang ◽  
Yuexia Chen ◽  
Guifeng Liu ◽  
Fan’e Kong ◽  
...  

Spinal cord injury is a serious disabling condition. Transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) is one of the most promising treatments for spinal cord injury (SCI). Thirty-nine patients with chronic SCI received OEC transplantation and completed long-term follow-up, with a minimum follow-up of 7 years. We assessed sensorimotor function with the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) and autonomic nervous function by the International Standards to document remaining Autonomic Function after Spinal Cord Injury (ISAFSCI), and sympathetic skin responses (SSR). The scores of each group were significantly higher after OECs transplantation than before treatment. SSR latencies were shorter and response amplitudes increased after treatment. Long-term follow-up showed further improvement only in motor function and autonomic function compared with 3 months postoperatively. No complications occurred in any patient during long-term follow-up. The results indicate that the transplantation of OECs in spinal cord restored function without serious side effects.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-18
Author(s):  
S P Das ◽  
Mamtamanjari Sahu ◽  
Pramod Kumar Parida

Abstract Prolong confinement to bed in spinal injury patients imparts constant pressure on bony prominences resulting impairment of blood flow to local tissue. Constant pressure of 2 hours or more produces irreversible changes leading to tissue necrosis and development of pressure sore. Sacrum encounters highest pressure in supine position and is the commonest site of pressure sore in spinal cord injury patients followed by trochanter and heel. Objective of the study Observation on management of sacral pressure sore by superior gluteal arterial perforatorbased flap using anatomical land marks in the absence of facility of Doppler probe for isolation of superior gluteal arterial perforators. Materials and methods Thirteen patients of spinal cord injury presented with sacral pressure sore were managed surgically using superior gluteal artery perforator-based flap coverage. The location of the artery was identifi ed using anatomical land marks. In 10 patients the flap was heeled uneventfully, one had signifi cant complication with wound dehiscence. Conclusions Management of sacral pressure sore by superior gluteal arterial perforator-based flap using anatomical land marks is a simple and reliable procedure. The learning curve is not that stiff. Sophisticated instruments are not required for this procedure.


Brain ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (6) ◽  
pp. 1697-1713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingxing Wang ◽  
Tianna Zhou ◽  
George D Maynard ◽  
Pramod S Terse ◽  
William B Cafferty ◽  
...  

Abstract After CNS trauma such as spinal cord injury, the ability of surviving neural elements to sprout axons, reorganize neural networks and support recovery of function is severely restricted, contributing to chronic neurological deficits. Among limitations on neural recovery are myelin-associated inhibitors functioning as ligands for neuronal Nogo receptor 1 (NgR1). A soluble decoy (NgR1-Fc, AXER-204) blocks these ligands and provides a means to promote recovery of function in multiple preclinical rodent models of spinal cord injury. However, the safety and efficacy of this reagent in non-human primate spinal cord injury and its toxicological profile have not been described. Here, we provide evidence that chronic intrathecal and intravenous administration of NgR1-Fc to cynomolgus monkey and to rat are without evident toxicity at doses of 20 mg and greater every other day (≥2.0 mg/kg/day), and far greater than the projected human dose. Adult female African green monkeys underwent right C5/6 lateral hemisection with evidence of persistent disuse of the right forelimb during feeding and right hindlimb during locomotion. At 1 month post-injury, the animals were randomized to treatment with vehicle (n = 6) or 0.10–0.17 mg/kg/day of NgR1-Fc (n = 8) delivered via intrathecal lumbar catheter and osmotic minipump for 4 months. One animal was removed from the study because of surgical complications of the catheter, but no treatment-related adverse events were noted in either group. Animal behaviour was evaluated at 6–7 months post-injury, i.e. 1–2 months after treatment cessation. The use of the impaired forelimb during spontaneous feeding and the impaired hindlimb during locomotion were both significantly greater in the treatment group. Tissue collected at 7–12 months post-injury showed no significant differences in lesion size, fibrotic scar, gliosis or neuroinflammation between groups. Serotoninergic raphespinal fibres below the lesion showed no deficit, with equal density on the lesioned and intact side below the level of the injury in both groups. Corticospinal axons traced from biotin-dextran-amine injections in the left motor cortex were equally labelled across groups and reduced caudal to the injury. The NgR1-Fc group tissue exhibited a significant 2–3-fold increased corticospinal axon density in the cervical cord below the level of the injury relative to the vehicle group. The data show that NgR1-Fc does not have preclinical toxicological issues in healthy animals or safety concerns in spinal cord injury animals. Thus, it presents as a potential therapeutic for spinal cord injury with evidence for behavioural improvement and growth of injured pathways in non-human primate spinal cord injury.


Trauma ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146040862094134
Author(s):  
Arran Willott ◽  
Raju Dhakal ◽  
Christine Groves ◽  
Julie Mytton ◽  
Matthew Ellis

Introduction There has been little systematic study of the epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in Nepal, South-East Asia, and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in general. One third of the global morbidity and mortality due to injuries is concentrated in South-East Asia. We need to better understand the circumstances leading to TSCI if we are to make progress with prevention. Method The Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC) in Nepal systemically collected prospective data describing people with TSCI admitted between September 2015 and August 2016. Descriptive analyses of variables yielded demographic, aetiological and clinical descriptors of this cohort. Cross-tabulations were used to explore the associations between variables. Results Of 184 admissions over one year, males were admitted to SIRC almost 2.3 times more often than females. Young adults (21–30 years) were the largest age group (34%). The majority of TSCI resulted in paraplegia (67%) and was complete in nearly half (49%). Falls caused the majority of TSCI (69%), and falls from trees were the most common. Road traffic injuries (RTIs) were the second leading cause (29%); the majority involved two- or three-wheeled motorised vehicles and patients were most commonly driving. Conclusion Falls were the leading cause of TSCI across both genders and all age groups, followed by RTIs, which occurred most often in young adults and men. Injury surveillance and further research would provide a greater understanding of the pattern of TSCI and enable progress in TSCI prevention and rehabilitation.


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