ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences 2016 March;60(1):1-10

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Hyperacute stabilization (<12 hours) for polytrauma patients with unstable spinal fractures

Rory K. MURPHY ¹, Yizheng HE ³, Muhammad JANJUA ², Douglas SCHUERER ², Wilson Z. RAY ¹, Neill WRIGHT ¹ ✉

¹ Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA; ² Section of Acute and Critical Care, Division of General Surgery, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA; ³ Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to validate the safety of hyperacute stabilization.
METHODS: Patient demographics, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade on initial evaluation and serial follow up grades, hospital length of stay, Intensive Care Unit length of stay, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative length of stay, comorbidities, Injury Severity Score and complications of recumbency were recorded.
RESULTS: Corroborating previous studies, our study shows polytrauma patients undergoing a hyperacute stabilization of a spinal fracture displayed a trend towards better neurological outcome and decreased hospital stays while having a similar complication rate to those operated on in a delayed fashion.
CONCLUSIONS: Hyperacute stabilization can be associated with improved ASIA grades even in complete injuries.