The Mount Sinai journal of medicine, New York
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Successful outcome from a traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) depends heavily upon the quality of the acute care rendered to the affected individual. In recent years, there have been significant advances in the acute management of SCI. We discuss current management strategies in the areas of prehospital care and transport, emergency room management, surgical considerations and pharmacotherapy.
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Clinical Trial
Treatment with an anabolic agent is associated with improvement in respiratory function in persons with tetraplegia: a pilot study.
Pulmonary complications are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among individuals with cervical spinal cord lesions. Strengthening of the respiratory musculature may reduce these complications. Anabolic steroids have been used to increase muscle mass and improve muscle performance. Oxandrolone, an anabolic steroid, may have beneficial effects on breathing in persons with tetraplegia. ⋯ In healthy subjects with tetraplegia, the use of oxandrolone was associated with significant improvements in weight and pulmonary function, and a subjective reduction in breathlessness. Therefore, oxandrolone may be indicated to strengthen respiratory musculature in individuals who have tetraplegia and ventilatory insufficiency aggravated by superimposition of pneumonia or other such conditions. However, long-term use of oxandrolone may not be indicated, due to the adverse complications associated with this class of agents.