title: Tandem spinal cord injuries without radiographic abnormalities in a young child.
abstract: Anatomic features unique to the pediatric spine render this population susceptible to spinal cord injuries without radiographic abnormalities (SCIWORA). To date, published descriptions of SCIWORA have been limited to a single region of the spinal column. We describe a case of a 3-year-old boy in whom, after a motor vehicle accident, tandem SCIWORA lesions involving the lower cervical spinal cord and thoracolumbar junction resulted in severe quadraparesis. The child was initially treated with 24 h of methylprednisolone followed by 3 months of external orthoses of both the cervical and thoracic spine. We include in this article a brief review of the literature and treatment guidelines for SCIWORA and postulate the mechanism of these tandem spinal cord injuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital of Buffalo, University of Buffalo School of Medicine, Buffalo, NY 14222, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pollina
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D013577:Syndrome; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*