Spinal cord infarction – a rare condition and a diagnostic challenge

[Argirios Argiriou]

05-02-2021 Läkartidningen.  (  Δεν είναι ορατοί οι σύνδεσμοι (links). Εγγραφή ή Είσοδος )

Spinal cord infarction – a rare condition and a diagnostic challenge.

Spinal cord infarction (SCI) causes acute spinal cord dysfunction with high morbidity. Without an inciting event such as a surgical procedure, a definitive diagnosis may be challenging. Thus, patients with a spontaneous (i e, non-traumatic, non-surgical) SCI are often misdiagnosed and the radiological distinction between SCI and other conditions with similar symptoms is more difficult than in cerebral infarction. Compared to cerebral infarction, SCI is rare and only accounts for approximately 1.2% of all strokes. SCI is usually localized to the anterior spinal artery area, causing the anterior spinal artery syndrome. Misdiagnosis may lead to unnecessary and possibly deleterious treatments as well as missed secondary stroke prevention. In this review, a typical case, an overview of the disease and newly proposed diagnostic criteria are presented.

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[Argirios Argiriou]

MAIN MESSAGE:

Spinal cord infarction is a relatively uncommon condition that represents about 1.2 percent of all strokes.

Spinal cord infarction is characterized by acute onset back pain and sensorimotor failure in the torso and extremities which can lead to severe disabilities.

In the majority of cases of spontaneous (non-traumatic, non-perioperative) spinal cord infarction, no cause of the condition can be identified.

Magnetic camera examination can be negative early in the process and needs to be repeated in case of clinical suspicion.

There is currently no acute treatment for spontaneous spinal cord infarction, but studies with thrombolysis are ongoing.

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