Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Contributors
- SECTION I NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION AND NEURODIAGNOSTIC TESTING
- SECTION II COMMON NEUROLOGICAL PRESENTATIONS
- SECTION III SPECIFIC NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
- 11 Central Nervous System Infections in Adults
- 12 Cerebrovascular Disease
- 13 Movement Disorders
- 14 Peripheral Nervous System and Neuromuscular Disorders
- 15 Guillain-Barré Syndrome
- 16 Myasthenia Gravis
- 17 Musculoskeletal and Neurogenic Pain
- 18 Neuro-Ophthalmological Emergencies
- 19 Multiple Sclerosis
- 20 Dementia
- 21 Brain Tumors and Other Neuro-Oncological Emergencies
- 22 Neuropsychiatry
- 23 Increased Intracranial Pressure and Herniation Syndromes
- 24 Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
- 25 Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
- 26 Nontraumatic Spinal Cord Emergencies
- 27 Sleep Disorders
- SECTION IV NEUROLOGICAL TRAUMA
- SECTION V PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGICAL EMERGENCIES
- SECTION VI PREGNANCY-RELATED NEUROLOGICAL EMERGENCIES
- SECTION VII NEUROTOXICOLOGY
- SECTION VIII BRAIN DEATH
- Index
- References
26 - Nontraumatic Spinal Cord Emergencies
from SECTION III - SPECIFIC NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 August 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Contributors
- SECTION I NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION AND NEURODIAGNOSTIC TESTING
- SECTION II COMMON NEUROLOGICAL PRESENTATIONS
- SECTION III SPECIFIC NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
- 11 Central Nervous System Infections in Adults
- 12 Cerebrovascular Disease
- 13 Movement Disorders
- 14 Peripheral Nervous System and Neuromuscular Disorders
- 15 Guillain-Barré Syndrome
- 16 Myasthenia Gravis
- 17 Musculoskeletal and Neurogenic Pain
- 18 Neuro-Ophthalmological Emergencies
- 19 Multiple Sclerosis
- 20 Dementia
- 21 Brain Tumors and Other Neuro-Oncological Emergencies
- 22 Neuropsychiatry
- 23 Increased Intracranial Pressure and Herniation Syndromes
- 24 Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension
- 25 Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
- 26 Nontraumatic Spinal Cord Emergencies
- 27 Sleep Disorders
- SECTION IV NEUROLOGICAL TRAUMA
- SECTION V PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGICAL EMERGENCIES
- SECTION VI PREGNANCY-RELATED NEUROLOGICAL EMERGENCIES
- SECTION VII NEUROTOXICOLOGY
- SECTION VIII BRAIN DEATH
- Index
- References
Summary
Nontraumatic spinal emergencies can be caused by a wide spectrum of conditions including infection, hemorrhage, and neoplasm. The most common findings in patients with spinal emergencies are pain, motor deficits, sensory deficits, abnormal reflexes, and urinary dysfunction. Acute back pain is the only symptom of catastrophic spinal emergencies such as spinal hemorrhage or infection. Sudden paralysis can result from trauma, cord infarction, or hemorrhage. Even though a thorough sensory examination in the emergency department is often difficult and unreliable, complexes of sensory and motor abnormalities are helpful. As a result of the anatomical distribution of upper and lower motor neurons, acute spinal cord lesions almost always present with hyperreflexia. The mechanism of urinary incontinence depends on the type of lesion. Spinal cord emergencies frequently go unrecognized initially or are misdiagnosed even with such obvious symptoms as the inability to walk or bladder function failure.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Principles and Practice of Emergency NeurologyHandbook for Emergency Physicians, pp. 263 - 272Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
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