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The article offers updates about spinal cord injury (SCI) in the U.S. as of 2012. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, estimates show that there are around 316,000 people living with SCI in the country, with motor vehicle collisions as the most common cause of SCI at around 40.4 percent of all reported injuries. The critical first step in managing SCI involves airway management, imaging and clearance of the spinal cord and initiation of pharmacologic management.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be complete or incomplete. The level of injury in SCI is defined as the most caudal segment with motor function rated at greater than or equal to 3/5, with pain and temperature preserved. The standard neurological classification of SCI provided by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) assigns grades from ASIA A (complete SCI) through ASIA E (normal sensory/motor), with B, C, and D representing varying degrees of injury between these extremes. The most common causes of SCI include trauma (motor vehicle accidents, sports, violence, falls), degenerative spinal disease, vascular injury (anterior spinal artery syndrome, epidural hematoma), tumor, infection (epidural abscess), and demyelinating processes (). (SDC Figure 1, http://links.lww.com/BRS/B91)(Figure is included in full-text article.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]