An improved way to predict neurologic recovery in acute spinal cord injury

In North America alone, spinal cord injury affects well over 1 million patients, with the average annual incidence expected to rise secondary to an increasing amount of falls in an aging population.1,2 Spinal cord injury (SCI) has detrimental health consequences that can frequently leave the injured patient with a lifetime of medical expenses exceeding $4 million.2 Although the current practice in treating SCI is to elevate a patient's mean arterial pressure (MAP) to 85–90 mm Hg for the first 7 days in an effort to maintain spinal cord perfusion, this treatment strategy has uncertain efficacy, as the actual spinal cord perfusion pressure (SCPP) remains unknown.3 In this issue of Neurology®, Squair et al.4 propose an improved treatment approach using the calculated SCPP that can provide patients with an increased likelihood of having restoration of function after an SCI.
Source: Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: EDITORIALS Source Type: research