ABSTRACT
Critical care of patients with spinal cord injuries is a unique clinical challenge. These
patients are usually young, recently healthy adults who have suffered a devastating
injury that has dramatically altered their physiology, function, independence, and self-
image. They are vulnerable to a variety of physiologic insults and complications that
may contribute to serious, lifelong disability. Optimal management requires the physician
to accurately assess and stabilize the cervical spinal injury, carefully monitor neurologic
function, support the patient’s homeostatic and recuperative mechanisms, and initiate
physical and psychological rehabilitation.
