Hypotension. Hypotension predisposes the acute SCI patient to a secondary injury from reduced blood flow and poor spinal cord perfusion, possibly worsening neurologic outcome. Be sure to maintain continuous heart rate and BP monitoring.
Expect to manage hypotension with volume resuscitation and vasopressor therapy. The goal of therapy is to sustain a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 85 mm Hg or higher for 7 days (an approach called hemodynamic push), which studies suggest may improve neurologic outcomes.