The military medical management of missile injury to the spine: a review of the literature and proposal of guidelines

Epidemiology of War-Related Spinal Cord Injury Among Combatants: A Systematic Review

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review.

OBJECTIVES

War-related spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are commonly more severe and complex than traumatic SCIs among civilians. This systematic review, for the first time, synthesized and critically appraised the literature on the epidemiology of war-related SCIs. This review aimed to identify distinct features from the civilian SCIs that can have an impact on the management of military and civilian SCIs.

METHODS

Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for articles on epidemiology of war-related SCI among combatants, published from 1946 to December 20, 2017. This review included only original publications on epidemiological aspects of SCIs that occur during an act of war. The STROBE statement was used to examine the quality of the publications.

RESULTS

The literature search identified 1594 publications, of which 25 articles fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The studies were classified into the following topics: 17 articles reported demographics, level and severity of SCI, mechanism of injury and/or associated bodily injuries; 5 articles reported the incidence of war-related SCI; and 6 articles reported the frequency of SCI among other war-related bodily injuries. Overall, military personnel with war-related SCI were typically young, white men, with predominantly thoracic or lumbar level, complete (American Spinal Injury Association [ASIA] Impairment Scale A) SCI due to gunshot or explosion and often associated with other bodily injuries. Marines appear to be at a greater risk of war-related SCI than the military personal in the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

CONCLUSIONS

The war-related SCIs among soldiers are distinct from the traumatic SCI in the general population. The majority of the current literature is based on the American experiences in most recent wars.

Prevalencia y evolución clínica de pacientes con heridas por arma de fuego en la columna vertebral

INTRODUCCIÓN: Objetivos: Determinar la prevalencia, mortalidad y evolución clínica de los pacientes con heridas por arma de fuego en columna vertebral y determinar si la extracción del proyectil mejora el estado neurológico de los pacientes. MÉTODO: Se realizó un estudio de serie de casos, donde se analizaron los registros de todos los pacientes con heridas por arma de fuego en la columna vertebral ingresados en la UMAE, Hospital de Especialidades del CMNO del IMSS, de septiembre del 2010 a septiembre del 2011, que eran compatibles con los criterios de inclusión, exclusión y de no inclusión. Se midió el grado de discapacidad de los pacientes mediante la escala de Oswestry. RESULTADOS: El grupo se formo por 13 (86,7%), pacientes del sexo masculino y 2 (13,3%) del sexo femenino, con edad media de 42 años y desviación estándar de 14 años. Las regiones más afectadas fueron torácica 7 (46,7%), cervical 5 (33,3%) y por último, lumbar con 3 (20%) pacientes; la estancia intrahospitalaria observada con mayor frecuencia fue 7 (13,3%) y 10 (13.3%) días, con 2 casos cada una; la estancia hospitalaria mínima fue de 3 días, con tan solo un (6,7%) caso y la mayor fue de 94 días, en 1 (6,7%) paciente. La estancia superior a 10 días ocurrió en 11 (73,3%) pacientes y la inferior a 10 días, en 4 (26,7%) pacientes. El tratamiento quirúrgico se realizó en 4 (26,7%) pacientes y 11 (73,3%) pacientes solo recibieron tratamiento clínico; la extracción del proyectil se efectúo en 3 (20%) pacientes, de los cuales 2 tuvieron infección. Se observaron complicaciones en 14 (93,3%) pacientes y tan solo en 1 (6,7%) no hubo complicaciones. En 6 (40%) pacientes ocurrió infección en comparación con 9 (60%) en quienes no la presentaron. El estatus neurológico mediante la escala de ASIA inicial predominante fue "A" en 7 (46,7%) y el ASIA final predominante fue "B" en 6 (40%) casos. Fallecieron 3 (20%) pacientes y 12 (80%) pacientes sobrevivían durante el periodo del estudio. El grado de discapacidad medido mediante la escala de Oswestry inicial mínimo fue de 18 puntos, el máximo de 94, con media de 62 y desviación estándar de 22.2. El Oswestry final tuvo una media de 58 puntos con desviación estándar de 23.5. CONCLUSIONES: En nuestro estudio podemos concluir que las heridas por arma de fuego en la columna, ocasionan un alto grado de discapacidad y evolucionan con alta morbilidad. A esto hay que añadir que tanto el tratamiento clínico cuanto el quirúrgico, no proporcionan mejoría sustancial en el estado neurológico y funcional del paciente. Tan solo se limitan a medidas de soporte para disminuir en lo posible las complicaciones, que a final de cuenta, son las que influenciarán en la calidad y sobrevida de los afectados. La extracción del proyectil y el tiempo transcurrido desde la cirugía no alteran el estado funcional final del paciente.

Can surgery improve neurological function in penetrating spinal injury? A review of the military and civilian literature and treatment recommendations for military neurosurgeons

Object

Penetrating spinal injury (PSI), although an infrequent injury in the civilian population, is not an infrequent injury in military conflicts. Throughout military history, the role of surgery in the treatment of PSI has been controversial. The US is currently involved in 2 military campaigns, the hallmark of both being the widespread use of various explosive devices. The authors reviewed the evidence for or against the use of decompressive laminectomy to treat PSI to provide a triservice (US Army, Navy, and Air Force) consensus and treatment recommendations for military neurosurgeons and spine surgeons.

Methods

A US National Library of Medicine PubMed database search that identified all literature dealing with acute management of PSI from military conflicts and civilian urban trauma centers in the post–Vietnam War period was undertaken.

Results

Nineteen retrospective case series (11 military and 8 civilian) met the study criteria. Eleven military articles covered a 20-year time span that included 782 patients who suffered either gunshot or blast-related projectile wounds. Four papers included sufficient data that analyzed the effectiveness of surgery compared with nonoperative management, 6 papers concluded that surgery was of no benefit, 2 papers indicated that surgery did have a role, and 3 papers made no comment. Eight civilian articles covered a 9-year time span that included 653 patients with spinal gunshot wounds. Two articles lacked any comparative data because of treatment bias. Two papers concluded that decompressive laminectomy had a beneficial role, 1 paper favored the removal of intracanal bullets between T-12 and L-4, and 5 papers indicated that surgery was of no benefit.

Conclusions

Based on the authors' military and civilian PubMed literature search, most of the evidence suggests that decompressive laminectomy does not improve neurological function in patients with PSI. However, there are serious methodological shortcomings in both literature groups. For this and other reasons, neurosurgeons from the US Air Force, Army, and Navy collectively believe that decompression should still be considered for any patient with an incomplete neurological injury and continued spinal canal compromise, ideally within 24–48 hours of injury; the patient should be stabilized concurrently if it is believed that the spinal injury is unstable. The authors recognize the highly controversial nature of this topic and hope that this literature review and the proposed treatment recommendations will be a valuable resource for deployed neurosurgeons. Ultimately, the deployed neurosurgeon must make the final treatment decision based on his or her opinion of the literature, individual abilities, and facility resources available.