Comparative analysis of the effect of steroid therapy and blood pressure maintenance on the mid-term outcomes of spinal cord injury

Objective. To analyze the dynamics of neurological symptoms and the structure of complications when using methylprednisolone and the method of maintaining target values of mean arterial pressure during surgical treatment of patients in the acute period of spinal cord injury (SCI).

Material and Methods. The study included 110 patients in the acute period of SCI with compression of spinal cord segments who were admitted to the clinic from January 2012 to March 2018 and underwent decompression and stabilization surgery within the first 2–3 hours after admission. In order to improve the blood supply to the damaged segments of the spinal cord and to prevent multiple organ failure, the main direction of intensive care in two groups of patients was to maintain the target blood pressure at the level of 85–90 mm Hg during the first 7–10 days. The MPD group included 43 patients who received methylprednisolone as a neuroprotector at a dose of 30 mg/kg bolus within the first hour after admission, followed by infusion at a dose of 5.4 mg/kg/h for 23 hours; and the MAP group included 67 patients who did not receive methylprednisolone. Non-invasive monitoring of central hemodynamic parameters was carried out on the basis of impedance cardiography data. The objective status of patients and data of X-ray diagnostics at the time of preoperative examination and during instrumental studies, as well as in 3–14 day intervals and in the mid-term (up to 4–6 months) postoperative period were analyzed.

Results. In the MPD group, 22 patients had ASIA type A neurological deficit, and an increase in ASIA grade was observed only in 4 (18 %) of them. There were 18 patients with incomplete injury in this group, and 9 of them (50 %) had a positive trend. In the MAP group, 38 patients had ASIA type A, out of them 11 (29 %) improved, and 28 patients had ASIA type B, C or D, out of them 17 (61 %) showed positive dynamics of neurological symptoms. No statistically significant differences were found. In the MPD group, complications such as nosocomial pneumonia and acute endobronchitis were observed three times more often, pulmonary embolism and decubital soft tissue ulcers – four times more often, and sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome and surgical site infection – two times more often. There were statistically significant differences in the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia and acute endobronchitis between MPD and MAP groups (p = 0.004 and p = 0.002, respectively.)

Conclusion. Maintaining mean arterial pressure at 85–90 mm Hg during the first 7–10 days after admission to the hospital allowed achieving a greater number of cases of improvement in the neurological status of patients, in contrast to the use of methylprednisolone. The use of methylprednisolone in patients with acute SCI increased the risk of nosocomial pneumonia or acute endobronchitis by 2.91 times (p = 0.003).

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