Three unique presentations of atraumatic spinal cord infarction in the pediatric emergency department

Nontraumatic spinal cord infarction is especially rare in children. Although diagnosis is easily made with magnetic resonance imaging, the typical presenting signs and symptoms and etiology remain elusive. Evidence-based treatment courses are not available. We assess a series of 3 unique patients with nontraumatic spinal cord infarction who presented to our emergency department over the course of 2 years. We consider their presentation, etiology, and treatment course to provide other emergency department physicians with the ability to better identify and evaluate these patients. We also note the need for further research on nontraumatic spinal cord infarction because these patients' outcomes can be quite devastating.