Autonomic dysreflexia within 24 hours of spinal cord injury

Abstract

Background: Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is a potentially life-  threatening condition, characterized by episodes of  dangerously elevated systolic blood pressures of up to 300 mmHg that typically affects quadriplegic and high paraplegic patients with spinal cord lesions above the T6 segment. Such lesions lie above the origin of the splanchnic sympathetic innervation and therefore interrupt their supraspinal regulation.
Case report: The condition usually occurs in the chronic stages of spinal cord injury, it rarely occurs in the acute phase postinjury. This case report describes a patient who developed AD within 24 hours of injury.
Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, no such case has been reported before in literature.

French title: Dysreflexie autonome dans les 24 heures suivant un traumatisme medullaire