The journal of spinal cord medicine
-
Children less than 15 years of age comprise approximately 3% to 5% of all new spinal injuries each year. Approximately one third of these children sustain injuries to the cervical spine. Respiratory complications of spinal cord injuries at the level of C5 and above may include diaphragm dysfunction, retained airway secretions, recurrent aspiration, nocturnal hypoventilation, and respiratory failure. ⋯ Despite their ability to breathe without mechanical support, these children often develop ongoing issues associated with respiratory compromise, which interfere with daily activities and can negatively affect quality of life. Poor endurance, failure to thrive, recurrent pneumonia, and sleep-disordered breathing all may be indications of significant respiratory dysfunction. This article describes assessment tools and management strategies aimed at supporting optimal health and preventing recurrent complications associated with unrecognized or untreated respiratory dysfunction.
-
Hypertension alone or in the presence of autonomic dysreflexia (AD) may be underdiagnosed and consequently mismanaged in people with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). Blood pressure (BP) derangements caused by AD are characterized by labile BP, in addition to episodic hypertension. Consequently, random BP readings often prove insufficient, which makes traditional outpatient evaluation and management suboptimal. Because elevated BP is common to essential hypertension (EH) and AD, distinction between the 2 entities proves challenging. The distinction is imperative because the treatments differ. Conventional BP monitoring in the office may miss labile BP patterns and episodic BP elevations. Ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) is used in the general population to improve the diagnosis and management of hypertension. ABPM provides the average BP level, circadian rhythm, and short-term BP variability. There is a paucity of ABPM studies in persons with SCI. ⋯ Because conventional office BP monitoring may miss labile BP patterns and episodic BP elevations, it is limited in the SCI population. ABPM may improve the outpatient management of blood pressure abnormalities in individuals with chronic SCI by clarifying mechanisms and patterns of BP in this patient population.
-
Although several reports characterize pain associated with adult-onset spinal cord injury (SCI), little is known about the incidence and etiology of pain associated with pediatric-onset SCI. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence and type of chronic pain in the pediatric SCI population and to evaluate the resulting impact on activities of daily living (ADLs). ⋯ Based on these pilot data, pain associated with a pediatric-onset SCI is common. The incidence of pain in this study approached the reported incidence of chronic pain in adult-onset SCI. In the present population, nocioceptive pain was more common than was neuropathic pain. These data suggest that although common, chronic pain associated with childhood SCI has a significantly smaller impact on daily activities than that reported in the literature for adult-onset SCI.
-
To delineate the prevalence, etiologies, clinical manifestations, complications, and management of autonomic dysreflexia in individuals who sustained spinal cord injury (SCI) as children. ⋯ Autonomic dysreflexia has a similar prevalence in pediatric-onset SCI compared with the adult SCI population. Dysreflexia is diagnosed less commonly in infants and preschool-aged children, and these 2 populations may present with more subtle signs and symptoms.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effects of sildenafil on the cardiovascular response in men with spinal cord injury at or above the sixth thoracic level.
Sildenafil is efficacious for erectile dysfunction in men with spinal cord injury (SCI), but can induce hypotension in neurologically intact people. Those with SCI at or above the sixth thoracic level (T6) often have pre-existing hypotension, yet the cardiovascular response to sildenafil has not been studied in this group. ⋯ Sildenafil induces significant hypotension in people with cervical-level injuries--more so than in thoracic-level injuries--and can cause dizziness in both populations. It should be prescribed with caution and informed consent from the patient.