Spinal Cord Injury, Part 1: The Acute Phase

Course overview

Healthcare professionals interact with people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in many settings, including the paramedic who extricates a patient from the scene of an accident, the ED nurse who encounters the patient immediately after injury, and the nurses and therapists in acute care, obstetrics, pediatrics, rehabilitation, home health, and school settings who may care for a person with an SCI throughout his or her life. In the United States, the number of people living with an SCI is about 276,000 with about 12,000 new cases occurring per year. This two-part series on SCI will provide healthcare professionals, including rehabilitation team members, with information about the management of acute and chronic SCI. This part, Part 1, reviews basic spinal cord anatomy, describes common mechanisms of SCI and changes in bodily function after injury, and discusses patient management during the acute phase of SCI treatment.