ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a study that aims to evaluate the effect of early surgical decompression, defined as occurring less than 24 hours after injury, versus late surgical decompression, defined as occurring over 24 hours after injury, on postoperative neurologic outcomes following traumatic cervical spinal cord injuries. The study was a prospective cohort study performed across six North American centers specializing in spinal cord trauma that evaluated adult patients with acute cervical spinal cord injuries (SCIs) that were surgically decompressed before or after the 24-hour post-SCI time point. It primary outcome for this study was a ordinal change observed in ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) grade at 6 months postoperative follow-up. Baseline AIS grades were obtained within 24 hours of SCI. In a subgroup analysis of the Surgical Timing in Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study data, Wilson et al. published a clinical prediction model for complications following traumatic spinal cord injury.
