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Case Reports
. 2022 Mar 25;8(3):406-412.
doi: 10.1002/ibra.12031. eCollection 2022 Fall.

Traumatic spinal cord injury caused by a dagger in the spine: A case report

Hong-Su Zhou  1 , Yu Pi  2 , Chong Wang  3 , Jun Ao  3 , Lv Sun  3 , Hao Yuan  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Traumatic spinal cord injury caused by a dagger in the spine: A case report

Hong-Su Zhou et al. Ibrain. .

Abstract

Acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) combined with foreign matter retention is rare in the clinic, which causes less literature reported, browsed, and analyzed. A 36-year-old male was rushed to our institution due to an attack on the back. His superficial sensation below the nipple had disappeared (mainly in the left breast), the proprioception of both lower limbs was obviously decreased, and the muscle strength of the left lower limb was level 0 and that of the right lower limb was level 3. Computed tomography of the thoracic vertebrae showed that the dagger had completely pierced into the T9 vertebral body and the spinal canal. Prehospital transport: the spinal cord may be injured again due to the movement of the remaining foreign matter and the posture of the patients while they are being transported. Pathophysiology: the incidence of incomplete SCI is higher than that of other types of SCI. Imaging examination: magnetic resonance imaging might cause unexpected secondary injuries. Treatments: surgical intervention including removal of foreign matter and decompression is an essential and important measure for recovery of neurological function. Patients could benefit from administration of methylprednisolone.

Keywords: foreign matter; post operation; preoperation; spinal cord injury; surgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Different cross‐section computed tomography images (highlight the orange circle and the yellow line). (A) Imagine showing part of the dagger inserted into the spinal canal. (B) Image showing that the dagger is inserted partially into the ninth thoracic cone. (C) Image showing that the dagger was inserted completely into the ninth thoracic cone [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
The dagger in the operation was circled with a black circle. (A) Location of the dagger. (B) The dagger has been removed [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Postoperative imaging. (A) Postoperative ct imaging showing the dagger crossing on T9 (highlight orange arrow and yellow curve). (B) The white signal is uninterrupted, indicating no cerebrospinal fluid leakage on magnetic resonance imaging after the operation (highlighted by the orange arrow) [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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