Central cord syndrome

Background

Spinal cord tracts

Hyperextension injury of cervical spine
Disruption of blood flow to the spinal cord
Cervical spinal stenosis
Typically elderly patient with significant DJD (ligamentum flavum compresses cord, causing contusion to central portion of spinal cord)
Syringomyelia (progressive, chronic, pain/temperature loss first)
Central canal ependymoma

Quadriparesis (characteristically with worse function in the UL than in the LL)
Possible loss of pain and temperature sensation, also greater in upper extremities

Consider intubation injuries at C5 or above
Consider surgical intervention for:
- Progressive neurologic deficits
- Unstable spine fractures
Steroids are no longer recommended
- Administration of methylprednisolone (MP) for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is not recommended. Clinicians considering MP therapy should bear in mind that the drug is not Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for this application. There is no Class I or Class II medical evidence supporting the clinical benefit of MP in the treatment of acute SCI. Scattered reports of Class III evidence claim inconsistent effects likely related to random chance or selection bias. However, Class I, II, and III evidence exists that high-dose steroids are associated with harmful side effects including death.^[1]
- See EBQ:High Dose Steroids in Cord Injury for further discussion

Admission for acute injury
Surgery within 24 hours is safe and effective, but may be extended to < 2 weeks after injury^[2]

↑ Hurlbert RJ et al. Pharmacological therapy for acute spinal cord injury. Neurosurgery. 2013 Mar;72 Suppl 2:93-105 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23417182
↑ Anderson KK et al. Optimal Timing of Surgical Decompression for Acute Traumatic Central Cord Syndrome: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Neurosurgery. 2015 Oct;77 Suppl 4:S15-32.