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Updated: Jan 3, 2026
A Contusive Model of Unilateral Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Using the Infinite Horizon Impactor
Published on: July 24, 2012
Ultra-early surgery in complete cervical spinal cord injury improves neurological recovery: A single-center
Davide Nasi1, Paolo Ruscelli2, Maurizio Gladi1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Umberto I General Hospital, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy.
Background:
This study evaluated how the neurological outcome in patients operated on cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) was positively influenced by ultra-early surgery (UES).
Methods:
Between 2010 and 2017, 81 patients with traumatic cervical SCI were assigned to the UES group (<12 h after injury; UES) and ES group (surgery between 12 and 48 h after injury; ES). Additional variables evaluated for the two groups included; age, sex, comorbidities charlson comorbidity index (CCI), level of trauma, type of fracture, preoperative and ASIA scores, pre- and post-operative neuroradiological examinations, surgical approaches, and complications.
Results:
Forty-seven of 81 (58.02%) patients exhibited improved neurological function 12 months postoperatively; better outcomes were observed in the UES (29 of 40 [72.5%]) versus ES groups (18 of 41 [43.9%]) (P = 0,009). For the 26 patients with complete cervical SCI (ASIA A), ultra-early surgical decompression was associated with significantly greater neurological improvement versus ES (61.53% vs. 7.69%; P = 0.003). Further, more neurological improvement correlated with the younger age, better ASIA grade at admission, and ultra-early surgical timing (< 12 h) both in the univariate and multivariate analysis (P = 0.037, P = 0.017, and P = 0.005, respectively), while CCI was correlated with improvement only in the univariate analysis (P = 0.005).
Conclusion:
Ultra-early surgical timing in SCI patients appeared to be the most important factor determining the extent of postoperative neurological improvement, particularly regarding motor function recovery.
