An evidence review on the diagnosis and treatment of tethered spinal cord, a rare condition affecting the nervous system, found that, while surgery could be a good option for symptomatic patients, data showing the benefit of surgical intervention for asymptomatic patients was lacking. The review was just published in the journal Pediatrics . Tethered spinal cord is a relatively rare congenital disorder caused by tissues not separating appropriately during fetal development.
As a result, the spinal cord is abnormally tethered to surrounding tissues. It is associated with excessive spinal cord and nerve tension and can lead to movement problems, pain, weakness, and numbness. It is usually diagnosed in childhood.
First author Patrick Hsieh, MD, a neurosurgeon at Keck Medicine of USC, along with Susanne Hempel, Ph.D., director of the Southern California Evidence Review Center at Keck School of Medicine of USC, and a team of researchers, reviewed 103 peer-reviewed studies and 355 case series on 13 databases covering diagnosis and treatment of tethered spinal cord.
Topics included prophylactic surgery , treatment for symptomatic tethered spinal cord, and treatment for retethering. The team also obtained data from publication authors for use in the evidence review . The team's goal was to identify areas where guidance around diagnosis and treatment could be developed, and where there are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed.
"We are always trying to diagnose symptomatic patients.