Summary
- Can occur as a result of spine trauma, vertebral compression fracture, intervertebral disc herniation, primary or metastatic spinal tumour, or infection.
- The resulting spinal cord injury may be acute, sub-acute, or chronic and occurs due to direct cord damage, by compression and/or infiltration, or by compromise of the vascular supply to the cord.
- Diagnosis is made by x-ray or MRI of the spine, but spinal cord injury may occur with no findings on imaging.
- Acute spinal cord compression (SCC) is a medical emergency that requires swift diagnosis and treatment to prevent irreversible spinal cord injury and long-term disability.
- Treatment of acute SCC may include corticosteroids, surgery, or radiotherapy.
Other related conditions
- Spinal stenosis
- Osteomyelitis
- Epidural abscess
- Assessment of back pain
- Osteoporosis
- Musculoskeletal lower back pain
- Metastatic breast cancer
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- Small cell lung cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Chronic pain syndromes
- Thoracolumbar spine trauma
- Osteoporotic spinal compression fractures
- Degenerative cervical spine disease
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Discogenic low back pain
- Osteosarcoma
- Assessment of polyneuropathy
- Erectile dysfunction
- Pressure ulcer
- Urinary tract infections in men
- Urinary tract infections in women
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Transverse myelitis
- HIV infection
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Multiple sclerosis
- Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
- MRSA
Last updated: Nov 19, 2012
