Abstract:

This is an expert consensus on the evaluation and treatment of thoracolumbar spinal injury, estab-lished from February 2009 to July 2010. The expert consensus consists mainly of six parts with a total of 54 recommendations including the overview (one item); pre-hospital care (one item); evalu-ation and diagnosis (13 items); treatment (23 items); prevention and treatment of major complica-tions (12 items); and rehabilitation (four items). This is the first time that Chinese experts have pub-lished a consensus on spine and spinal cord injury. The expert consensus was established based on Delphi methods, literature analysis, and clinical experiences. Each recommendation is supported by and was interpreted using multi-level evidences. The level of agreement with the recommenda-tion among the panel members was assessed as either low, moderate, or strong. Each panel member was asked to indicate his or her level of agreement on a 5-point scale, with “1” corre-sponding to neutrality and “5” representing maximum agreement. Scores were aggregated across the panel members and an arithmetic mean was calculated. This mean score was then translated into low, moderate, or strong. After all of the votes were collected and calculated, the results showed no low-level recommendations, 10 moderate-level recommendations, and 44 strong-level recom-mendations. An expert consensus was reached and was recognized by Chinese spine surgeons. Wide-scale adoption of these recommendations is urgent in the management of acute thoracol-umbar spine and spinal cord injury in a broader attempt to create a standard evaluation and treat-ment strategy for acute thoracolumbar spine and spinal cord injury in China.

Key words: neural regeneration, spinal cord injury, expert consensus, thoracolumbar spine and spinal cord injury, guidelines, evidence-based medicine, neurological function, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, grant-supported paper, neuroregeneration