The Influence of Cervical Spondylosis to Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

ABSTRACT

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study OBJECTIVES: To examine the influence of cervical spondylosis on an acute cervical spinal cord injury. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: There are no reports on the relationship between cervical spondylosis and acute cervical spinal cord injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty six patients who underwent operative treatment for acute cervical injuries with spinal cord injury were evaluated. The mean age and follow-up period was 58 years and 2.2 years, respectively. The evaluation was performed by examining the causes of the injuries, and the classification of fractures according to the presence of cervical spondylosis. This study compared the degrees of postoperative neurological recovery with motor index score in the groups with and without cervical spondylosis. RESULTS: Cervical cord injuries were more prevalent in the group 60 years and older; 17 cases vs. 9 cases in the group under 60 years. Eleven (65%) and 6 (35%) cases in the group 60 years and older had sustained a high and low energy injury, respectively. In contrast, mostly high energy injuries (8 in 9 cases) were encountered in the group under 60 years of age. A low energy injury could cause a acute cervical cord injury in the group 60 years and older, who also had cervical spondylosis. In those cases, previous cervical spondylosis might be one of the etiologic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The cases with cervical spondylosis in the group 60 years and older tended to show incomplete cord injury and good postoperative neurological recovery when they had sustained cervical cord injuries.