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Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging for Assessment of Spinal Cord Blood Flow in Experimental Spinal Cord Injury
Published on: May 7, 2015
Spinal cord perfusion pressure predicts neurologic recovery in acute spinal cord injury
Jordan W Squair1, Lise M Bélanger1, Angela Tsang1
1From the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) (J.W.S., M.F.D., C.R.W., B.K.K.); MD/PhD Training Program (J.W.S.), Department of Orthopaedics (J.S., C.G.F., M.F.D, B.K.K) and Division of Neurosurgery (T.A., S. Paquette, N.D.), Vancouver Spine Surgery Institute, Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, and School of Kinesiology (C.R.W.), University of British Columbia; Vancouver Spine Program (L.M.B., A.T., L.R.), Vancouver General Hospital; Department of Surgery, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal (J.-M.M.-T., S. Parent), and Chu Sainte-Justine, Department of Surgery (S.C.), Université de Montréal; Division of Orthopaedic Surgery (C.B.), London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, Canada; and Department of Neurological Surgery (S.D.), University of California, San Francisco.
Objective:
To determine whether spinal cord perfusion pressure (SCPP) as measured with a lumbar intrathecal catheter is a more predictive measure of neurologic outcome than the conventionally measured mean arterial pressure (MAP).
Methods:
A total of 92 individuals with acute spinal cord injury were enrolled in this multicenter prospective observational clinical trial. MAP and CSF pressure (CSFP) were monitored during the first week postinjury. Neurologic impairment was assessed at baseline and at 6 months postinjury. We used logistic regression, systematic iterations of relative risk, and Cox proportional hazard models to examine hemodynamic patterns commensurate with neurologic outcome.
Results:
We found that SCPP (odds ratio 1.039, p = 0.002) is independently associated with positive neurologic recovery. The relative risk for not recovering neurologic function continually increased as individuals were exposed to SCPP below 50 mm Hg. Individuals who improved in neurologic grade dropped below SCPP of 50 mm Hg fewer times than those who did not improve (p = 0.012). This effect was not observed for MAP or CSFP. Those who were exposed to SCPP below 50 mm Hg were less likely to improve from their baseline neurologic impairment grade (p = 0.0056).
Conclusions:
We demonstrate that maintaining SCPP above 50 mm Hg is a strong predictor of improved neurologic recovery following spinal cord injury. This suggests that SCPP (the difference between MAP and CSFP) can provide useful information to guide the hemodynamic management of patients with acute spinal cord injury.
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