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Spinal Cord Injury Learning Center
Complications could include:
- Paralysis
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Chronic pain
- Urinary Incontinence
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Fecal Incontinence
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Neurogenic shock
- Impaired Sensation
- Joint Contracture
- Chronic Bilateral O...
- Pneumonia
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Urinary Tract Infec...
- Bronchitis
- Muscle Spasticity
- Malignant Hypertens...
- Skin Ulcers
- Respiratory Paralys...
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Blood pressure changes - can be extreme (autonomic hyperreflexia) Complications of immobility: Deep vein thrombosis; Pulmonary infections; Skin breakdown; Contractures; Increased risk of injury to numb areas of the body; Increased risk of kidney d...
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DEEP VENOUS THROMBOSIS. Blood does not flow normally through a paralyzed limb that is inactive for long periods. The blood pools in the deep veins and forms clots, a condition known as deep vein thrombosis. A clot, or thrombus, can break free and ...
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The prognosis of SCI depends on the location and extent of injury. Injuries of the neck above C4 with significant involvement of the diaphragm hold the gravest prognosis. Respiratory infection is one of the leading causes of death in long-term SCI...
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The prognosis of SCI depends on the location and extent of injury. Once the initial injury heals, functional improvements may continue for at least six months. Any disability that remains after that point is likely to be permanent. Injuries of the...
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The prognosis of SCI depends on the location and extent of injury. Injuries of the neck above C4 with significant involvement of the diaphragm hold the gravest prognosis. Respiratory infection is one of the leading causes of death in long-term SCI...
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Paralysis is defined as complete loss of strength in an affected limb or muscle group.
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Paralysis is defined as complete loss of strength in an affected limb or muscle group.
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Urinary (or bladder) incontinence is when you are not able to keep urine from leaking from your urethra, the tube that carries urine out of your body from your bladder. It can range from an occasional leakage of urine, to a complete inability to h...
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Urinary incontinence is unintentional loss of urine that is sufficient enough in frequency and amount to cause physical and/or emotional distress in the person experiencing it.
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Collagen implants are injections done to help control urine leakage that is caused by weak sphincters. Sphincters are muscles that allow your body to hold in urine. If your sphincter muscles stop working well you will have urine leakage. See also:...
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Placement of tension-free vaginal tape is a procedure to help control stress incontinence, urine leakage that can happen when you laugh, cough, sneeze, lift things, or exercise. The procedure helps close your urethra (the tube that carries urine f...
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Vaginal sling procedures help control stress incontinence, urine leakage that can happen when you laugh, cough, sneeze, lift things, or exercise. They help close your urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside) and the bl...
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Urinary incontinence is unintentional loss of urine that is sufficient enough in frequency and amount to cause physical and/or emotional distress in the person experiencing it.
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Deep venous thrombosis is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a vein that is deep inside the body.
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Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot in a major vein, usually in the legs and/or pelvis.
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Bowel incontinence is the loss of bowel control, leading to an involuntary passage of stool. This can range from occasionally leaking a small amount of stool and passing gas, to completely losing control of bowel movements. Urinary incontinence, a...
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Fecal incontinence is the inability to control the passage of gas or stools (feces) through the anus. For some people, fecal incontinence is a relatively minor problem that is limited to a slight occasional soiling of underwear, but for others it ...
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Fecal incontinence is the inability to control the passage of gas or stools (feces) through the anus. For some people fecal incontinence is a relatively minor problem, as when it is limited to a slight occasional soiling of underwear, but for othe...
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Impaired sensation is often a signal that there something affecting a nerve or the nervous system. Changes in sensations are often subjective and difficult to describe, that is, experienced by the patient but difficult for the provider to diagnose and treat.
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A contracture is a tightening of muscle, tendons, ligaments, or skin that prevents normal movement. See also: Becker's muscular dystrophy; Cerebral palsy; Duchenne muscular dystrophy; Dupuytren's contracture; Volkmann's contracture.
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Chronic bilateral obstructive uropathy is a long-term blockage of urine flow from both kidneys. It is a slow blockage that gets worse over time. Bilateral means "both sides." See also: Chronic unilateral obstructive uropathy; Acute unilateral obst...
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Pneumonia is a respiratory condition in which there is inflammation of the lung. Community-acquired pneumonia refers to pneumonia in people who have not recently been in the hospital or another health care facility (nursing home, rehabilitation fa...
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The most common mechanism by which the lung is inoculated with pathogenic organisms is through microaspiration of oropharyngeal contents, a process that occurs in otherwise healthy individuals during sleep ( Chapter 82 ). Colonization of the oral pharynx with pathogenic organisms, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae ( Chapter 303 ), can thereby lead to delivery of sufficient quantities of organisms to infect the lung.
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Pneumonia is an infection of the lung, and can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections. These include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In the United States, pneumonia is the sixth most common disease leadi...
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Introduction Pneumonia has been recognized as a disease entity since remote times, with definitions of the condition traceable in ancient Greek, Roman, and Arabic writings. Definitive recognition of the etiologic role of microorganisms in pneumonia, and the identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae as the most common causative agent was only achieved roughly 120 years ago.
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The actual incidence of pneumonia in ambulatory patients is difficult to estimate because the etiologic agent is rarely identified except in clinical trials, and CAP is not currently considered a reportable disease. Each year in the United States there are 2 to 3 million cases of CAP.
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The following Clinical Topic Tour provides an overview of pneumococcal pneumonia and was adapted by materials published by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the CDC.
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Pneumonia is an infection of the lung that can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections . These include bacteria, amoebae, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In the United States, pneumonia is the sixth most common dis...
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Eosinophilic pneumonia is a group of diseases in which there is an above normal number of eosinophils in the lungs and blood.
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Chlamydial pneumonia refers to one of several types of pneumonia that can be caused by various types of the bacteria known as Chlamydia .
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Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. It results in an inflammatory response within the small air spaces of the...
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Pneumonia is a serious infection of the lung that impairs breathing. Small air sacs in the lung (alveoli) become filled with pus, mucus or other fluid, and cannot supply oxygen to circulating blood . Lobar pneumonia affects one section, or lobe, o...
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One of the most common pulmonary complications affecting cancer patients, pneumonia is a potentially life-threatening inflammation of one or both lungs.
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Pneumococcal pneumonia is a common but serious infection and inflammation of the lungs. It is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae .
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Pneumocystis pneumonia is a lung infection that occurs primarily in people with weakened immune systems—especially people who are HIV-positive. The disease agent is an organism whose biological classification is still uncertain. Pneumocystis carin...
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Question: Do most men have difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection (impotence) as they grow older? Answer: Getting older does not mean you will experience impotence, although in many men, sexual responses may become slower and less intense...
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Erectile dysfunction (ED) may be defined as the consistent inability to achieve or maintain an erection sufficient to permit satisfactory sexual intercourse. The word "consistent" is included in the definition because most men experience transient...
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Impotence, often called erectile dysfunction, refers to the male's inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse.
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Impotence, also known as erectile dysfunction, is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse.
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A urinary tract infection, or UTI, is an infection that can happen anywhere along the urinary tract. Urinary tract infections have different names, depending on what part of the urinary tract is infected. Bladder - an infection in the bladder is a...
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Bronchitis is inflammation of the main air passages to the lungs. Bronchitis may be short-lived (acute) or chronic, meaning that it lasts a long time and often recurs. See also: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
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The term "bronchitis" refers to the inflammation of medium-sized and large airways in the lung (bronchi). Bronchitis is distinguished from bronchiolitis (inflammation of small airways that lack cartilage and mucus-secreting glands in their walls) ...
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Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air passages between the nose and the lungs, including the windpipe, or trachea, and the larger air tubes called bronchi that bring air into the lungs from the trachea. When bronchitis is mild and brief in dura...
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A lower respiratory inflammation affecting the windpipe (trachea) and bronchial tubes. Bronchitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or allergies, and it occurs in both acute and chronic forms, the former usually caused by a virus and the latter ...
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Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air passages between the nose and the lungs, including the windpipe or trachea and the larger air tubes of the lung that bring air in from the trachea (bronchi). Bronchitis can either be of brief duration (acut...
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Bronchitis is an inflammation of the air passages between the nose and the lungs, including the windpipe or trachea and the larger air tubes of the lung that bring air in from the trachea (bronchi). Bronchitis can either be of brief duration (acut...
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Spasticity is stiff or rigid muscles with exaggerated, deep tendon reflexes (for example, a knee-jerk reflex. The condition can interfere with walking, movement, or speech. See also: Muscle cramps
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Spasticity is a form of muscle overactivity. A spastic muscle is one in which a muscle resists being stretched out, and the resistance to stretch is greater the faster the muscle is moved. Spasticity is often used as an umbrella term for other for...
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Spasticity is an abnormal increase in muscle tone. It may be associated with involuntary muscle spasms , sustained muscle contractions (dystonia), and exaggerated deep tendon reflexes that make movement difficult or uncontrollable. Although it mos...
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Malignant hypertension is a sudden and rapid development of extremely high blood pressure. The lower (diastolic) blood pressure reading, which is normally around 80 mmHg, is often above 130 mmHg.
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A pressure ulcer is an area of skin that breaks down when you stay in one position for too long without shifting your weight. This often happens if you use a wheelchair or you are bedridden, even for a short period of time (for example, after surg...
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Stridor is an abnormal, high-pitched, musical breathing sound caused by a blockage in the throat or voice box (larynx. It is usually heard when taking in a breath. See also: Wheezing
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