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Acute Spinal Disorders

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Neurointensive Care

Abstract

Injury to the spinal cord may result in devastating neurological deficits which reciprocally affect other major systems in the body. Outcome is significantly influenced by management strategies and outlooks. Ideally such patients are best managed in a facility specializing in treating spinal cord injury (SCI). However it has been noted that up to 50 % of patients with acute SCI are admitted to non-specialized intensive care units pending transfer to specialized units. This occurs either due to logistic factors or because patient’s condition is not safe for transfer. The care of patients may sometimes fall on the shoulders of practitioners with limited experience. This common scenario necessitates practitioners to have an appropriate awareness of the critical care requirements of SCI patients. When handling a SCI patient with multiple organ systems facing overt or impending dysfunction, a clear idea of therapeutic objectives in a prioritized manner can help ensure patient safety. Vigilant monitoring of specific parameters for each major system will provide an avenue to ensure problems are prevented or treated as early as possible. This chapter entails the safety risks encountered in the critical care management of acute spinal cord and guidelines to circumvent these problems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Neuroscience Services and Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

    Regunath Kandasamy MBBS, MRCS, MS Neurosurgery, Zamzuri Idris MBBch, MS Neurosurgery & Jafri Malin Abdullah FASC, MD, PhD, DSCN, FRCS

  2. Departments of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

    Wan Mohd Nazaruddin Wan Hassan MD, Master in Medicine

Authors
  1. Regunath Kandasamy MBBS, MRCS, MS Neurosurgery
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  2. Wan Mohd Nazaruddin Wan Hassan MD, Master in Medicine
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  3. Zamzuri Idris MBBch, MS Neurosurgery
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  4. Jafri Malin Abdullah FASC, MD, PhD, DSCN, FRCS
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jafri Malin Abdullah FASC, MD, PhD, DSCN, FRCS .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurological Intensive Care Unit, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany

    Katja E. Wartenberg

  2. Department of Critical Care, Medinah National Hospital, Medinah Munnawarah, Saudi Arabia

    Khalid Shukri

  3. Department of Neurology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois, USA

    Tamer Abdelhak

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Kandasamy, R., Hassan, W.M.N.W., Idris, Z., Abdullah, J.M. (2015). Acute Spinal Disorders. In: Wartenberg, K., Shukri, K., Abdelhak, T. (eds) Neurointensive Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17293-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17293-4_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-17292-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17293-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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