Paediatric Spinal Cord Injury
Original Editor - Add a link to your Physiopedia profile here.
Top Contributors - Rucha Gadgil, Naomi O'Reilly, Kim Jackson, Shaimaa Eldib and Admin
Introduction[edit | edit source]
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is when the spinal cord is damaged from an accident or other situation. Pediatric traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is an uncommon presentation accounting for a mere 5%. The mechanism of injury, the male: female ratio, and the level of injury all differ from adult SCI. The rate of recovery following SCI in the pediatric population is also thought to be faster mainly because of the anatomical differences with adults along with the inherent elasticity of the pediatric spine.[1]
The typical injuries occurring in children include occipito-atlantal or atlanto-axial dissociation, atlanto-axial rotary subluxation, spinal cord injury without radiological abnormality, and multiple thoracic compression fracture[2].
Congenital and acquired pediatric spinal cord injuries (SCI) pose unique management challenges because of the dynamic nature of cognitive and physical development in the growing child and the impact of the SCI on this complex process[3].
Epidemiology/Etiology[edit | edit source]
In pediatric patients, Traumatic SCI is relatively rare, with:
- only about 2% to 5% being spine injuries [4]
- >80% of injuries occurring in the cervical spine, while the percentage of cervical regions in adults is only around 30% to 40% [5].
- thoracic and lumbar spine injuries representing 6% to 9% of all pediatric spine trauma[6]
- decreased cervical injuries incidence after age 14 with a resemblance adult patient pattern[7]
Clinical presentation[edit | edit source]
Differential Diagnosis[edit | edit source]
Imaging and Outcome Measures[edit | edit source]
Medical Management[edit | edit source]
Physiotherapy management[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
References will automatically be added here, see adding references tutorial.
- ↑ Parent S, Mac-Thiong JM, Roy-Beaudry M, Sosa JF, Labelle H. Spinal cord injury in the pediatric population: a systematic review of the literature. J Neurotrauma. 2011 Aug;28(8):1515-24. doi: 10.1089/neu.2009.1153. Epub 2011 Jun 9. PMID: 21501096; PMCID: PMC3143390.
- ↑ Basu S (2012) Spinal injuries in children. Front. Neur. 3:96. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2012.00096
- ↑ Powell A, Davidson L. Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury. A Review By Organ System. Phy. Med. and Rehab Clinics, 2015; 26(1); 109-132. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2014.09.002
- ↑ Cirak B, Ziegfeld S, Knight VM, Chang D, Avellino AM, Paidas CN. Spinal injuries in children. J Pediatr Surg. 2004;39(4):607–12.
- ↑ Eubanks JD, Gilmore A, Bess S, Cooperman DR. Clearing the pediatric cervical spine following injury. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2006;14(9):552–64.
- ↑ Garg H, Pahys J, Cahill PJ. Thoracic and Lumbar Spine Injuries. InPediatric Orthopedic Surgical Emergencies 2012 (pp. 67–86). Springer, New York, NY.
- ↑ Hall DE, Boydston W. Pediatric neck injuries. Pediatr Rev. 1999;20(1):13–9.
