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Review
. 2022 Apr 19;18(1):22-30.
doi: 10.13004/kjnt.2022.18.e21. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Review: Steroid Use in Patients With Acute Spinal Cord Injury and Guideline Update

Byung-Jou Lee  1 , Je Hoon Jeong  2
Affiliations
Review

Review: Steroid Use in Patients With Acute Spinal Cord Injury and Guideline Update

Byung-Jou Lee et al. Korean J Neurotrauma. .

Abstract

Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition that causes enormous damage to a patient's physical, mental, and economic situation and requires a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. Research on SCI has been performed for a long time, and the management of SCI has developed dramatically in recent decades as a mechanism of injury and the pathophysiology of SCI have been revealed from the primitive stage in the past. In the treatment of patients with acute SCI, there is a lot of debate regarding surgical treatment strategies and pharmacological management, such as steroid use. In particular, the efficacy of steroid use, such as methylprednisolone sodium succinate, has been increasing and decreasing and is still intensely debated. The practice guidelines reported so far for this are also at the "suggest" stage with weak recommendations. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the effects of steroid use on SCI. This review provides an overview of current practical guidelines and clinical studies on steroid use in patients with SCI.

Keywords: Guideline; Pathophysiology; Spinal cord injuries; Steroid.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: Je Hoon Jeong serves as an Editor-in-Chief of the Korean Journal of Neurotrauma, but has no role in the decision to publish this article. Except for that, no potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1. Phases and subdivisions of spinal cord injury.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2. Pathophysiology of spinal cord injury.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3. A double-edged sword for secondary injury.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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