Question

Spinal Cord Injury

Adam is a 6-year-old boy who dove head first in the shallow end of a swimming pool. Unable to move, he sank to the bottom of the pool and was rescued by his mother. His father called the emergency medical services (EMS) while the mother provided mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The EMS arrived and continued the resuscitation and placed him in a cervical collar. Adam was placed on a backboard and began to breathe on his own while en route to a trauma center. Neurologic assessment revealed paralysis of the upper and lower extremities, and cervical spine x-ray images and a magnetic resonance image (MRI) confirmed a C6-C7 complete transection injury. The patient was intubated before going into surgery for decompression of the injury.

Into what types of shock could the patient go? What symptoms did the patient exhibit?

For which complications of a spinal cord injury will the nurse assess?

What procedures would you anticipate for long-term rehabilitative management?

Answer 1

The patient can land up in neurogenic shock bevause the injury has occired in the spinal cord

The patient exhibited the following symptoms

• Breathing difficulty
• Paralysis or weakness in the limbs

The complications which the nurse hss to assess for are

• Musculoskeletal strength, movement of wrist and forearm
• The possibility for head and neck movement in future
• Carpel tunnel syndrome
• Tingling sensation occuring in hand , forearm
• Pain in shoulder which is like burning sensation
• Altered bowel and bladder pattern

The procedure which can be anticipated for ling term rehabilitative management are

• Surgical correction
• Administration of medication like NSAID
• Physiotherapy for better recovery