By Robert Linnehan
A database study of patients who underwent either delayed or early treatment for central cord syndrome showed little, if any, benefits of early treatment.
The study included 68 patients who presented to a regional spinal cord injury center between January 2004 and June 2009 with central cord syndrome and underwent surgical decompression. Nineteen patients underwent surgery within a day of presentation, and the remaining 49 patients underwent surgery on a delayed basis. The mean age, sex, percentage of patients with cervical fracture and cord edema were similar between the groups. There were no differences between the surgical procedures in either group, according to the researchers.
