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Objectives: To analyze the relationship between neurological progression following traumatic spinal cord injury and Spinal Cord Compression (SCC) and Spinal Ligamentous Injury (LI) by magnetic resonance imaging., Design: Retrospective observational study., Setting: Spinal Cord Injury Unit (A Coruña, Spain)., Participants: Patients were admitted for traumatic spinal cord injury between January 2010 and December 2018 with a magnetic resonance imaging examination performed during the acute phase., Intervention: Evaluation of SCC and LI by magnetic resonance imaging., Outcome Measures: Comparisons between neurological examination at admission and discharge were made, assessing ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) grade and motor score., Results: Data from 296 patients were collected. A relationship between SCC and LI and complete injuries were found (P < 0.001). Improvement of the AIS grade was observed in 31.6% of patients with SCC and 31.3% with LI versus 42.7% and 37.8% of subjects without these complications, respectively. Regarding motor score, patients with SCC had lower mean values at the beginning (46.9 ± 26.8 versus 61.1 ± 29.9 in the control group, P < 0.001), as well as less improvement when assessed by the percentage of change (35.1 ± 37.5% versus 49.4 ± 38.1% in the control group, P = 0.010). Similar results were obtained in cases with LI: mean motor score at admission was 45.9 ± 26.7 versus 54.9 ± 29.4 in the control group (P = 0.014) and the percentage of change was 28.5 ± 37.1% in comparison to 46.0 ± 37.5% (P = 0.001) in the controls., Conclusions: There is a relationship between SCC and LI and complete spinal cord injury. This patient population has lower possibilities of improving their AIS grade and motor score.

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of traumatic spinal cord injury in children of Galicia (Spain)., Design: Descriptive and retrospective study., Methods: Data extracted from the internal registry of the Spinal Cord Injury Unit and the patient's medical records, between March 1988 and December 2014. Inclusion criteria: patients aged ≤ 17 years with a traumatic spinal cord injury., Outcome measures: Total patients, percentages, incidence, ASIA scale results and improvement., Results: A total of 68 patients were included. The incidence was 5.6 cases/1,000,000 inhabitants/year. The mean age was 14.4 years (median: 16). Only 25% were younger than 15. Male patients accounted for 73.5% of the total. The main cause were traffic accidents (60.3%; n = 41), being higher (77.8%) in children ≤ 10 years. Other etiologies included falls (19.1%), diving accidents (16.2%) and other causes (4.4%). Eleven patients (16.2%) had injuries classified as SCIWORA, 8 (72.7%) of them aged ≤ 10 years. The mean age of the SCIWORA group was 7.5 years versus 15.7 years in the non-SCIWORA group (P < 0.001). Half (50%) of these patients had a complete spinal cord injury and, of these, 64.6% were paraplegic., Conclusions: Traumatic spinal cord injuries are rare in children, and most cases occur between 15 and 17 years. Unlike in adults, SCIs in children mostly involve the thoracic spine. Most patients aged ≤ 10 years have SCIWORA. The most common etiology continues to be traffic accidents, although sports accidents prevail among adolescent patients.

Context: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a common complication in patients with a spinal cord injury, mainly affecting complete injuries above neurological level T6. It is generally more severe during the acute phase but can remain symptomatic for several years., Findings: A 65-year-old male with a grade ASIA A post-traumatic cervical spinal cord injury, at neurological level C4, presenting with symptomatic refractory OH. Increased blood pressure (BP) levels and an overall clinical improvement was observed after administering an increasing dose of droxidopa. Treatment was started at a dose of 100 mg twice daily (bid), one to be taken upon rising in the morning and another one in the afternoon, at least three hours before bedtime. According to the patient's symptomatic response, each individual dose was increased by 100 mg at 48-hour intervals. Both increased mean BP levels and a subjective symptomatic improvement were evidenced at a dose of 300 mg bid., Clinical Relevance: Treatment with droxidopa increases BP levels and improves symptoms related to refractory OH using all physical and pharmacological measures available. It could therefore constitute an effective alternative treatment for OH in patients with a spinal cord injury.