A research group led by Gunma University and the University of Tokyo has found that if a patient with a fracture-free cervical spinal cord injury undergoes surgery within 24 hours of the injury, the recovery of paralysis in the limbs will be accelerated.
According to Gunma University, cervical spinal cord injury is a trauma in which the spinal cord of the neck is injured and the limbs cannot be moved due to a fall or a traffic accident, and about 5,000 cases occur annually nationwide.Of these, 7% are cases without fractures, which are increasing with the progress of an aging society.It is also known that patients with ossification of the longitudinal ligament after a designated intractable disease suddenly develop paralysis due to minor trauma such as a fall.
The research group divided patients into groups with different treatment methods at 43 facilities nationwide, including university hospitals, over a period of eight years, and conducted randomized trials to examine the therapeutic effect.As a result, it is clear that the recovery speed of paralysis can be accelerated, although the recovery level of paralysis after 8 year is similar to the surgery within 24 hours after the injury compared to the surgery after 2 weeks or more after the injury. became.
There has been no clear guideline for early surgery on fracture-free cervical spinal cord injury, and there has been controversy among specialists.Currently, emergency surgery is rarely performed for cervical spinal cord injury without fracture, but treatment guidelines are set based on the results of this study, and it seems expected that emergency surgery will be performed within 24 hours at a specialized institution. ..
Paper information:[JAMA Network Open] Effect of Early vs Delayed Surgical Treatment on Motor Recovery in IncompleteCervical Spinal Cord Injury with Preexisting Cervical Stenosis
