Spinal Cord Injury

The source reports an approximate 85% response rate for treated spinal cord injury patients, with qualifications. Complete injuries may show only sensory changes, while incomplete injuries may show larger recovery gains. Incomplete spinal cord injuries are reported to respond more strongly than complete injuries. The spinal cord injury data are promising but incomplete because key methodological details are not provided. Delayed swallowing recovery after extubation in spinal cord injury patients may relate to neurological dysfunction caused by the injury. Patients without spinal cord injury were 8.825 times more likely to be classified in the low-risk swallowing group than in the high-risk group. Spinal cord injury response is variable, injury-specific, and often requires multiple procedures. Nutritional support including nasogastric feeding or tube feeding may be considered for spinal cord injury patients with impaired post-extubation swallowing.