Emergency War Surgery NATO Handbook: Part IV: Regional Wounds and Injuries: Chapter XXXIII: Wounds and Injuries of the Spinal Column and Cord

Pharmacologic Treatment

United States Department of Defense

The value of pharmacological agents in the management of spinal cord injuries remains questionable Attempts to prevent the deleterious effects of trauma on the nervous system or to restore lost neurological function have led some to use steroids (50 mg of Decadron initially, followed by 10 mg qid on a reducing scale over a four or five day period), and 20 % mannitol (500 cc by rapid IV infusion). Benefit from either drug, employed singularly or in combination, has not been demonstrated. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which can reduce edema and hyperoxygenate tissues, may be of value in the incomplete injury if initiated within a few hours of injury.

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Operational Medicine 2001

Health Care in Military Settings

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