C-Spine
Central Cord Syndrome
search
Central Cord Syndrome
, Central Spinal Cord Syndrome
See Also
Complete Cord Syndrome
Spinal Cord Hemisection
(
Brown-Sequard Syndrome
)
Anterior Cord Syndrome
Posterior Cord Syndrome
Spinal Cord Syndrome
Cervical Spine Injury
Epidemiology
Most common
Partial Cord Syndrome
Pathophysiology
Hyperextension of the
Cervical Spine
(e.g. fall onto face)
Edema
and
Hemorrhage
into the central cord (gray matter and lateral
Corticospinal tract
s)
Images
Precautions
Have a high index of suspicion in
Trauma
Findings may initially be subtle and mistakenly attributed to peripheral injury
Causes
Older patients (most common)
Cervical Spondylosis
Cervical Spine
Osteoarthritis
Athletes
Hyperextension with ligamentum flavum buckling
Other mechanisms
Unrestrained in
Motor Vehicle Accident
Signs
Bilateral motor weakness
Upper extremities affected more than the lower extremities
Distal extremities affected more than proximal extremities
Sensory deficiency
Variable
Hyperesthesia may be present
Imaging
MRI Spine without contrast (preferred)
CT Spine
Typically performed as initial study in
Trauma
May demonstrate
Fracture
or spinal subluxation
However, CT is unlikely to identify cord compression
Management
Consult Neurosurgery
Decompression Surgery
In acute
Trauma
-related cases, may result in better neurologic outcomes
Anderson (2015) Neurosurgery 77(suupl 4):S15-32 [PubMed]
Prognosis
Better than with other
Partial Cord Syndrome
s
References
Broder (2022) Crit Dec Emerg Med 36(3): 25
Decker in Chorley and Bachur (2014) Overview of Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries..., UpToDate, Wolters-Kluwer
Wagner (1997) Emerg Med Clin North Am 15:699-711 [PubMed]
Type your search phrase here