Description

This prospective multicenter study will enroll 50 adult patients with acute traumatic cervical SCI with ISNCSCI AIS Grade D or sensory deficits only without biomechanical instability.

Patients will be assessed at the baseline visit and subsequently be followed up at 3 and 6 months. All decisions regarding the treatment and clinical management will be left to the attending spinal surgeon and will follow the local standard of care.

The core outcome assessments include:

• Neurological status by the ISNCSCI
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) of Short Form-36 (SF-36) v2 and Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS)
• The Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) v3
• Gait and balance evaluated using the ten-meter walk test (10mWT) and Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI) v2
• Upper extremity impairment evaluated using the grip strength with digital dynamometry, pinch strength (key pinch and tip-to-tip pinch), and the Partial Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength Sensibility and Prehension (GRASSP) v2.

All core outcome assessments will be performed at the baseline, 3-, and 6-month visits except for the PROMs, SCIM v3, key pinch and tip-to-tip pinch, which will be assessed only at the 3- and 6-month visits.

The optional outcome assessment is the multiparametric quantitative spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) which will be performed at baseline, 3-, and 6-month visits if it is done at the surgeon's discretion.

The goal of this study is to obtain information and data that could inform the feasibility of administering a set of additional core and optional outcome assessments in cervical SCI patients with incomplete tetraplegia without spinal instability to capture the aspects of neurologic impairment that may not be well represented in the ISNCSCI examination.