Citation

Parent S, Mac-Thiong JM, Roy-Beaudry M, Sosa JF, Labelle H. J. Neurotrauma 2011; 28(8): 1515-1524.

Affiliation

Ste-Justine Hospital, Orthopaedics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; stefan.parent@umontreal.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2009.1153

PMID

21501096

PMCID

PMC3143390

Abstract

Spinal cord injury before the age of 15 years old is a relatively rare occurrence but it can have important psychological and physiological consequences. Although the exact frequency is unknown, it represents less than 4% of the overall incidence of SCI annually (2004). The mechanism of injury, the male:female ratio, and the level of injury are different than in the adult population. The incidence increases rapidly with age, with over 30% of injuries occurring between the ages of 17 and 23 and 53% occurring between the ages of 16 and 30. The rate of recovery following SCI in the pediatric population is also thought to be improved compared to adults. This systematic review of the literature was undertaken to evaluate three specific questions namely 1) What is the epidemiology of pediatric spinal cord injury and fractures?; 2) Are there unique features of pediatric SCI which distinguish the pediatric SCI population from adult SCI?; and 3) Is there evidence to support the use of neuroprotective approaches, including hypothermia and steroids, in the treatment of pediatric SCI? The systematic review approach was chosen to review the evidence surrounding these aspects of pediatric SCI because of the paucity (or inexistence) of good randomized controlled trials for this particular problem.

Language: en