Mechanical ventilation strategy in quadriplegic patients for the intensivist

Abstract

In France, the number of spinal cord injuries is around 2000 new cases per year, often affecting young men, and thus having a real impact on public health. Seventy percent of patients with spinal cord injury upper than C5 require mechanical ventilation during their hospitalization. The need for this mechanical ventilation expose the spinal cord injury (SCI) patients to 2 risk periods: the intubation phase with a high risk of displacement and compression during the course of the procedure, and the withdrawal phase, which is particularly difficult in this context, resulting in an increase in morbidity and hospitalization times.

Recently, the latest guidelines from SFAR-SFMU experts on the management of spinal cord injuries published. In this context, we report on good practices in the management of these patients, particularly in the field of ventilation.