Neurological recovery after early versus delayed surgical decompression for acute traumatic spinal cord injury.

The aim of this study was to determine whether early surgical treatment results in better neurological recovery 12 months after injury than late surgical treatment in patients with acute traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI). Patients with tSCI requiring surgical spinal decompression presenting to 17 centres in Europe were recruited. Depending on the timing of decompression, patients were divided into early (≤ 12 hours after injury) and late (> 12 hours and < 14 days after injury) groups. The American Spinal Injury Association neurological (ASIA) examination was performed at baseline (after injury but before decompression) and at 12 months. The primary endpoint was the change in Lower Extremity Motor Score (LEMS) from baseline to 12 months. The final analyses comprised 159 patients in the early and 135 in the late group. Patients in the early group had significantly more severe neurological impairment before surgical treatment. For unadjusted complete-case analysis, mean change in LEMS was 15.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) 12.1 to 19.0) in the early and 11.3 (95% CI 8.3 to 14.3) in the late group, with a mean between-group difference of 4.3 (95% CI -0.3 to 8.8). Using multiply imputed data adjusting for baseline LEMS, baseline ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS), and propensity score, the mean between-group difference in the change in LEMS decreased to 2.2 (95% CI -1.5 to 5.9). Compared to late surgical decompression, early surgical decompression following acute tSCI did not result in statistically significant or clinically meaningful neurological improvements 12 months after injury. These results, however, do not impact the well-established need for acute, non-surgical tSCI management. This is the first study to highlight that a combination of baseline imbalances, ceiling effects, and loss to follow-up rates may yield an overestimate of the effect of early surgical decompression in unadjusted analyses, which underpins the importance of adjusted statistical analyses in acute tSCI research.

Vertebral artery injury in a patient with fractured C4 vertebra.

Vertebral artery injuries due to cervical spine trauma, although rarely described in the literature, are relatively common. While most of them will remain asymptomatic, a small percentage of patients may suffer life threatening complications. We report a case of the right vertebral artery injury in a patient with fracture of C4 vertebra, successfully treated with endovascular approach. A 78-year-old male patient was hospitalized for cervical spine injury caused by falling off the tractor. Radiological assessment revealed fracture of C4 vertebra with proximal two-thirds of C4 body dislocated five millimeters dorsally. Significant swelling of soft prevertebral tissues distally of C2 segment was also present. During emergency surgery using standard anterior approach for cervical spine, excessive bleeding started from the injured right vertebral artery. Bleeding was stopped by tamponade with oxidized regenerated cellulose sheet and C4-C5 anterior fixation; then partial reduction of displacement was done. Fifteen days later, after angiography, endovascular repair of the right vertebral artery was performed using percutaneous stent graft. Follow up computed tomography scan angiography showed valid stent patency without contrast extravasation. In cases of cervical spine trauma, surgeon should always be prepared to manage injury of vertebral artery. Bleeding can primarily be stopped by hemostatic packing, and definitive repair can be successfully achieved by endovascular approach using percutaneous stent graft.