Persons With Chronic Spinal Cord Injuries in the Emergency Department: a Review of a Unique Population.

Background: Persons with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are frequent utilizers of emergency medical services but are a poorly understood and medically complex population. As the treatment of acute spinal cord injuries improves, there is a growing population of patients suffering from the chronic neurological deficits and altered homeostasis resulting from those injuries.

Objectives: We sought to highlight the unique diagnostic challenges of treating persons with SCIs and to review ailments uncommon in the general population but often encountered in this population.