Spontaneous spinal cord infarction in Austria: a two-center comparative study.
Ther Adv Neurol Disord
; 15: 17562864221076321, 2022.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35299778
ABSTRACT
Background:
Spinal cord infarction (SCI) is a neurological emergency associated with high rates of persistent neurological deficits. Knowledge about this rare but potentially treatable condition needs to be expanded.Objective:
To describe the characteristics of spontaneous SCI in a large retrospective series of patients treated at two tertiary care centers in Austria.Methods:
We performed a descriptive and comparative analysis of spontaneous SCI treated at the University Hospitals of Salzburg and Graz between the years 2000 and 2020. The analysis included pre- and in-hospital procedures, clinical presentation, etiology, diagnostic certainty, reperfusion therapy, and functional outcome at discharge.Results:
We identified 88 cases, 61% were ascertained in the second half of the study period. The median age was 65.5 years [interquartile range (IQR)â=â56-74], 51.1% were women. Anterior spinal artery infarction was the predominant syndrome (82.9%). Demographics, vascular comorbidities, and clinical presentation did not differ between the centers. The most frequent etiology and level of diagnostic certainty were distinct, with atherosclerosis (50%) and definite SCI (42%), and unknown (52.5%) and probable SCI (60%) as front runners in Salzburg and Graz, respectively. Patients arrived after a median of 258.5 min (IQRâ=â110-528) at the emergency room. The first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spinal cord was performed after a median of 148 min (IQRâ=â90-312) from admission and was diagnostic for SCI in 45%. Two patients received intravenous thrombolysis (2.2%). The outcome was poor in 37/77 (48%).Conclusion:
Demographics, clinical syndromes, and quality benchmarks for spontaneous SCI were consistent at two Austrian tertiary care centers. Our findings provide the foundation for establishing standards for pre- and in-hospital care to improve outcomes.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Guideline
/
Prognostic_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
Ther Adv Neurol Disord
Year:
2022
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Austria
Publication country:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
/
UNITED KINGDOM