title: Clinical Outcome in Patients with Early versus Delayed Decompression in Cervical Spine Trauma.
abstract: METHODS
  Prospective observational study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the clinical outcome after early versus late decompression for traumatic cervical cord injury.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Traumatic spinal cord injury is common globally with the most tragic outcomes in the cervical spine. Although recent studies have shown that early decompression results in more favourable outcome, its authority is yet to be established.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study on 98 patients with a traumatic cervical cord injury was conducted over a period of 5 years. The patients who were operated on within 24 hours of the onset of the primary injury (n=34) were classified as the early group, and those who were operated on after 24 hours of the onset of the injury (n=64) were categorized as the late group. The outcome of both the groups was assessed using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) at the 6-month follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients in the early group were operated on at a mean time of 18.4 hours (range, 13-24 hours) while patients were operated on at a mean time of 52.7 hours (range, 31-124 hours) in the late group. At the 6-month follow-up, 7 (23.3%) in the early group and 5 (8.7%) in the late group showed >2 grade improvement in the AIS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of patients undergoing decompression within 24 hours of the injury are better than those who are operated on later. An attempt should be made to decompress the traumatic cervical spine early in all possible cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Sohail
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Umerani
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan. ; Department of Surgery, Ziauddin University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Asad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Salman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharif
keywords: Spinal cord injuries; Spinal fixation; Spinal fractures; Surgical decompression; Treatment outcome