Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury

Background: Cervical spinal cord injuries (SCI) are a severe subset of trauma cases, with important impacts on functional abilities and quality of life. Effective management strategies are crucial for improving outcomes. Objective: This study evaluates the impact of initial ASIA impairment scale...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aman Singh, Somil Jaiswal, Anil Chandra, Amit Srivastava, Suresh Jaiswal, Awadhesh Yadav, B.K. Ojha, Chhitij Srivastava
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: London Academic Publishing 2024-12-01
Series:Romanian Neurosurgery
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.lapub.co.uk/index.php/roneurosurgery/article/view/2761
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841560239237758976
author Aman Singh
Somil Jaiswal
Anil Chandra
Amit Srivastava
Suresh Jaiswal
Awadhesh Yadav
B.K. Ojha
Chhitij Srivastava
author_facet Aman Singh
Somil Jaiswal
Anil Chandra
Amit Srivastava
Suresh Jaiswal
Awadhesh Yadav
B.K. Ojha
Chhitij Srivastava
author_sort Aman Singh
collection DOAJ
description Background: Cervical spinal cord injuries (SCI) are a severe subset of trauma cases, with important impacts on functional abilities and quality of life. Effective management strategies are crucial for improving outcomes. Objective: This study evaluates the impact of initial ASIA impairment scale (AIS) grades on recovery and outcomes in cervical SCI. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 565 patients with cervical SCI was conducted. Variables included age, gender, mode of injury, the timing of intervention, injury levels, management strategies, and outcomes based on initial and discharge AIS scores were analysed. Results: The cohort comprised 565 patients, with age distribution as follows: 1-20 years (12.9%, n=73), 21-40 years (47.6%, n=269), 41-60 years (31.4%, n=177), and over 60 years (8.1%, n=46). Males predominated (86.9%, n=491). Age did not significantly affect outcomes (p=0.42), and while males had a 28.5% good outcome rate, females had a 39.2% rate (p=0.06). Road traffic accidents were the leading cause of injury (41.8%, n=236) but had a lower good outcome rate (22.9%) compared to falls (34.7%, n=196) with a higher good outcome rate (38.3%). Animal attacks showed the highest good outcome rate (66.7%, n=20). Timing of intervention did not significantly impact outcomes (p=0.16 for injury-to-admission and p=0.793 for timing of surgery). Subaxial cervical injuries were the most common (93.9%). Among 247 surgical patients, discectomy was most frequently performed. Complications occurred in 19.65% of patients, primarily pressure sores. The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.67%, with 79.47% discharged and 11.86% leaving against medical advice. Recovery was most pronounced in ASIA C (93.7%) and ASIA D (94.3%) patients. ASIA B patients showed a significant improvement rate (74.1%), while ASIA A patients had the lowest improvement (34.8%) (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Initial ASIA grades are strong predictors of neurological recovery in cervical SCI, with incomplete injuries (ASIA C and D) showing good outcomes. Management strategies, including early intervention and surgical approaches, play a crucial role in recovery. Despite some variability in outcomes based on injury cause and management, ASIA grading remains a critical tool for assessing prognosis and guiding treatment.
format Article
id doaj-art-6ba93bf135f24f8690f7b4e10f5b2c71
institution Kabale University
issn 1220-8841
2344-4959
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher London Academic Publishing
record_format Article
series Romanian Neurosurgery
spelling doaj-art-6ba93bf135f24f8690f7b4e10f5b2c712025-01-04T15:59:35ZengLondon Academic PublishingRomanian Neurosurgery1220-88412344-49592024-12-01384Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injuryAman SinghSomil JaiswalAnil ChandraAmit SrivastavaSuresh JaiswalAwadhesh YadavB.K. OjhaChhitij Srivastava Background: Cervical spinal cord injuries (SCI) are a severe subset of trauma cases, with important impacts on functional abilities and quality of life. Effective management strategies are crucial for improving outcomes. Objective: This study evaluates the impact of initial ASIA impairment scale (AIS) grades on recovery and outcomes in cervical SCI. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 565 patients with cervical SCI was conducted. Variables included age, gender, mode of injury, the timing of intervention, injury levels, management strategies, and outcomes based on initial and discharge AIS scores were analysed. Results: The cohort comprised 565 patients, with age distribution as follows: 1-20 years (12.9%, n=73), 21-40 years (47.6%, n=269), 41-60 years (31.4%, n=177), and over 60 years (8.1%, n=46). Males predominated (86.9%, n=491). Age did not significantly affect outcomes (p=0.42), and while males had a 28.5% good outcome rate, females had a 39.2% rate (p=0.06). Road traffic accidents were the leading cause of injury (41.8%, n=236) but had a lower good outcome rate (22.9%) compared to falls (34.7%, n=196) with a higher good outcome rate (38.3%). Animal attacks showed the highest good outcome rate (66.7%, n=20). Timing of intervention did not significantly impact outcomes (p=0.16 for injury-to-admission and p=0.793 for timing of surgery). Subaxial cervical injuries were the most common (93.9%). Among 247 surgical patients, discectomy was most frequently performed. Complications occurred in 19.65% of patients, primarily pressure sores. The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.67%, with 79.47% discharged and 11.86% leaving against medical advice. Recovery was most pronounced in ASIA C (93.7%) and ASIA D (94.3%) patients. ASIA B patients showed a significant improvement rate (74.1%), while ASIA A patients had the lowest improvement (34.8%) (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Initial ASIA grades are strong predictors of neurological recovery in cervical SCI, with incomplete injuries (ASIA C and D) showing good outcomes. Management strategies, including early intervention and surgical approaches, play a crucial role in recovery. Despite some variability in outcomes based on injury cause and management, ASIA grading remains a critical tool for assessing prognosis and guiding treatment. http://journals.lapub.co.uk/index.php/roneurosurgery/article/view/2761cervical spinal cord injuriesASIA scaleoutcomessurgical management
spellingShingle Aman Singh
Somil Jaiswal
Anil Chandra
Amit Srivastava
Suresh Jaiswal
Awadhesh Yadav
B.K. Ojha
Chhitij Srivastava
Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury
Romanian Neurosurgery
cervical spinal cord injuries
ASIA scale
outcomes
surgical management
title Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury
title_full Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury
title_fullStr Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury
title_full_unstemmed Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury
title_short Initial ASIA impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury
title_sort initial asia impairment scale and its association with improvement in cervical spinal cord injury
topic cervical spinal cord injuries
ASIA scale
outcomes
surgical management
url http://journals.lapub.co.uk/index.php/roneurosurgery/article/view/2761
work_keys_str_mv AT amansingh initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury
AT somiljaiswal initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury
AT anilchandra initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury
AT amitsrivastava initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury
AT sureshjaiswal initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury
AT awadheshyadav initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury
AT bkojha initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury
AT chhitijsrivastava initialasiaimpairmentscaleanditsassociationwithimprovementincervicalspinalcordinjury