Comparing the role of renal ultrasound vs MAG3 renal scans for evaluation of neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: Compare ability of renal ultrasound and Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) renal scan to identify upper urinary tract stasis. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: Outpatient Neuro-urology clinic serving a large SCI population. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and sixty-five individuals with spinal cord injury, presenting for annual evaluation. INTERVENTIONS: Renal ultrasound, MAG3 renal scan. OUTCOME MEASURES: Radiologic evidence of upper urinary tract stasis as reviewed by independent radiologist. For renal ultrasounds, this included: mild hydronephrosis, dilation of collecting systems, pelviectasis, or caliectasis. For MAG3 renal scans, this included evidence of slow drainage of radioisotope, dilation of collecting systems, or reverse peristalsis. RESULTS: Forty-five individuals with spinal cord injury demonstrated upper tract stasis, with 12 identified by renal ultrasound and 43 identified by MAG3 renal scan. There was a strong relative correlation between test results (Yule's Q = 0.90), though MAG3 renal scan identified a significantly higher rate of upper tract stasis within the same patients (P < 0.0001). The odds ratio of improved identification using MAG3 renal scan was 16.5 (95% CI 3.96-68.76). CONCLUSIONS: While renal ultrasound is more effective at evaluating renal anatomy, MAG3 renal scan identifies significantly more upper urinary tract stasis than renal ultrasound and should be considered for SCI individuals with risk factors of upper tract injury.

Designing the objective structured clinical examination to cover all major areas of physical medicine and rehabilitation over 3 yrs.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires that training programs comprehensively evaluate residents in the six core Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies. One of the ways we do this in our residency is by administering a nine-station Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) at the end of each year, which evaluates tasks such as history taking, focused physical examination, communication, professionalism, procedural skills, management, prescription writing, and understanding systems-based practice. We have classified our OSCE stations into what we consider key areas in our field and assessed these on a rotating basis over 3 yrs. This results in the assessment of 27 areas over the 3 yrs of residency. Structuring the OSCE as a series of stations over 3 yrs is an efficient method to evaluate residents' competencies that are required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and certifying boards. An analysis of OSCE scores when compared with American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation parts 1 and 2 scores and final summative resident evaluation scores reveals that OSCE results correlate with part 1 scores and final evaluation scores but do not show the same strong correlations with part 2 scores. We discuss the way the OSCE can complete other assessment techniques and ways to improve cases in the future.

Gastric dysmotility after abdominal surgery in persons with cervical spinal cord injury: a case series.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury (SCI) has been found to affect the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract. Changes in gastric motility occur in tetraplegia because of dissociation of antral and duodenal motility. Among individuals with high-level tetraplegia, antral quiescence has been hypothesized as a manifestation of autonomic dysreflexia after surgery. This case series shows the issues with gastric hypomotility after gastrointestinal surgery in tetraplegic patients with tetraplegia, including management strategies. OBJECTIVE: To report 3 patients with complete high cervical SCI who developed gastroparesis after abdominal surgery and discuss the effect of autonomic dysfunction on gastric motility. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 3 cases. RESULTS: Gastroparesis occurred after abdominal surgery in 3 patients with C4 American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) A tetraplegia and seemed to be a sign of autonomic hyperreflexia caused by postoperative pain. Management was challenging because it consisted of balancing of appropriate pain medication and dealing with absorption issues and dysmotility. Often gastric motility agents were not effective in improving gastric emptying. However, increased use of pain medication improved gastric emptying, which supports the hypothesis that this issue represents gastric dysfunction from autonomic hyperreflexia. CONCLUSIONS: In persons with complete cervical SCI who have undergone abdominal surgery, postoperative gastroparesis can be a manifestation of pain. This may occur as the excessive sympathetic response from autonomic hyperreflexia inhibits distal antral activity. Thus, treatment of postoperative gastroparesis should focus on improved pain control to decrease excessive splanchnic sympathetic output and circulating norepinephrine.

Autonomic nervous system dysfunction after spinal cord injury.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a key role in the regulation of many physiologic processes, mediated by supraspinal control from centers in the central nervous system. The role of autonomic dysfunction in persons with spinal cord injuries is crucial to understand because many aspects of the altered physiology seen in these individuals are directly caused by ANS dysregulation.