Citation

Ahn H, Singh J, Nathens A, Macdonald RD, Travers A, Tallon JM, Fehlings MG, Yee A. J. Neurotrauma 2011; 28(8): 1341-1361.

Affiliation

University of Toronto, Surgery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; (ahnh@smh.toronto.on.ca).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2009.1168

PMID

20175667

PMCID

PMC3143405

Abstract

An interdisciplinary expert panel of medical and surgical specialists involved in the management of patients with potential spinal cord injuries was assembled. Three key questions focused on the pre-hospital management of patients with acute spinal cord injury were generated. These were: 1) What is the optimal type and duration of pre-hospital spinal immobilization in patients with acute SCI? 2) During airway manipulation in the pre-hospital setting, what is the ideal method of spinal immobilization? 3) What is the impact of pre-hospital transport times to definitive care on the outcomes of patients with acute spinal cord injury? A systematic review utilizing multiple databases was performed to determine the current evidence for the specific questions and each article was reviewed and assessed by two reviewers independently based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Guidelines were then created relating to the questions asked. A national Canadian expert panel applied Delphi methods to review and refine recommendations based on the best available evidence for each question (30;36;37).

Language: en