Is cervical fracture accompanied by spinal cord injury dangerous?

Cervical vertebra fracture accompanied by spinal cord injury is a kind of cervical vertebra disease of the human body. Generally, it is a disease caused by external influences. Cervical vertebra fracture accompanied by spinal cord injury is very harmful to the human body and may even be life-threatening. It can also cause incontinence and frequent fever and other symptoms, requiring timely care.

Is cervical fracture accompanied by spinal cord injury serious?

Cervical vertebra fracture with spinal cord injury is a serious and even fatal injury that can affect the patient's limb movement, sensation, urination and defecation, respiratory muscles, and body temperature. The severity of cervical spinal cord injury should be taken seriously. Once cervical spinal cord injury is discovered, do not move the patient at will. Use tools such as a fixator, wooden board or stick to fix the spinal cord in the correct physiological and anatomical position, and call 120 to send the patient to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Cervical fracture

Neck symptoms

Neck pain, movement disorders, cervical muscle spasm, widespread tenderness, numbness and swelling in the neck, and severe local symptoms.

Except for a few lucky cases, patients with spinal cord injury generally have varying degrees of paralysis, and the proportion of complete spinal cord injury is relatively high.

complication

Due to the severity of the injury, when the paralysis level is high, the fracture and dislocation of the C4 plane may cause dyspnea due to respiratory muscle paralysis, and secondary aspiration pneumonia; abdominal distension, bedsores and urinary tract infection are also quite common.

Diagnosis and testing

Imaging tests

The diagnosis of fractures and dislocations is mainly based on X-rays and CT scans; however, MR images are still the clearest for determining soft tissue injuries and spinal cord status, and efforts should be made to conduct examinations as early as possible.

Testing

The diagnosis of fractures and dislocations is mainly based on X-rays and CT scans; however, for the determination of soft tissue injuries and spinal cord status, MRI images are still the clearest and should be checked as early as possible.

treat

In addition to general non-surgical treatment and dehydration therapy, the following points should be noted:

1. Keep the airway open. The openness of the airway is of great significance, especially for those with complete spinal cord injury above the 5th cervical vertebra. Tracheotomy should be performed as soon as possible.

2. While compressing, efforts should also be made to ensure the stability of the damaged vertebrae to prevent the occurrence or aggravation of spinal cord injury. In addition to using traction therapy to immobilize the cervical spine, anterior or posterior surgical therapy can also be adopted as appropriate.

3. Removal of compression objects in the spinal canal: Whenever CT or MRI examinations confirm that there are compression objects in the spinal canal, they should be removed as soon as possible and internal fixation should be performed at the same time. Anterior cervical approach is usually the most common approach. For some patients with severe conditions, posterior cervical fixation is also required. For all

Those who are in poor health can postpone the operation.