Michael Fehlings (Toronto, Canada) talks to Spinal News International at DWG-Kongress (7–9 December 2022; Berlin, Germany) about the “dramatic shift” over the past 25 years in the management and outcomes of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients.
“Time is spine” is an important concept, notes Fehlings, adding that “the role of early decompression has had a dramatic impact” on the outcomes of those with SCI. In fact, “the odds of having substantial recovery is about three-fold higher if surgery is undertaken within the first 24 hours”, he states. This is complemented by “improvements in intensive care management” and “advances in rehabilitation”.
Fehlings outlines how advances in both technology and technique have impacted the treatment of SCI patients and takes a look at some of the current innovative clinical trials in the space. He concludes by highlighting how Big Data might be utilised to enhance the ability to predict outcomes and care delivery of SCI patients in the future.
