title: Gunshot injury without direct injury to the cord may lead to complete paraplegia.
abstract: Paraplegia following gunshot injury without direct injury to the cord is extremely rare. We describe the case of a 31-year-old woman who was admitted to our trauma resuscitation unit for a penetrating gunshot wound to the abdomen with hemorrhagic shock and paraplegia. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen showed severe hepatic and pulmonary injuries, with the trajectory of the missile away from the spinal canal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed a spine contusion from T8 to T10. After 24 months, no significant neurologic improvement occurred. Physicians managing severe trauma should be aware of the possibility to observe severe neurologic deficit following gunshot wounds even without violation of the spinal canal. These injuries might be in relation to the kinetic energy emission to the surrounding tissue by the missile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Military Hospital Desgenettes, Bron, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Klack
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency, Lyon Sud Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), Pierre-Bénite, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tassin
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Lyon Sud Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), Pierre-Bénite, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Henry Gabrielle Hospital, HCL, Saint-Genis-Laval, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luaute
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency, Lyon Sud Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), Pierre-Bénite, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency, Lyon Sud Hospital, Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL), Pierre-Bénite, France. js-david@univ-lyon1.fr.
authors.forename: J-S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: David
keywords: Gunshot wound; Paraplegia; Penetrating trauma; Spinal cord injury; Spine blast
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