DELAYED VERSUS EARLY SURGICAL DECOMPRESSION FOR TRAUMATIC SPINAL CORD INJURY

May 7, 2026 updated by: Fauji Foundation Hospital

COMPARISON OF DELAYED VERSUS EARLY SURGICAL DECOMPRESSION FOR TRAUMATIC SPINAL CORD INJURY

To compare the outcome of early versus delayed surgical decompression among patients presenting with traumatic spinal cord injury in a tertiary care hospital.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Despite the increasing advocacy for early surgery, significant variability persists in clinical practice. This inconsistency stems from conflicting evidence in the literature, with some studies reporting substantial neurological benefits from early intervention, while others find no significant difference compared to delayed surgery. Similarly, in our institute, both early and delayed decompressions are in practice, whichever considered suitable by the experts. But no study has done to date that compare the outcome of both techniques. Given these gaps, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive evaluation of the existing evidence to determine the optimal timing of surgical intervention for acute traumatic SCI especially among our local population where past evidence is scarce. So, this study seeks to contribute to this critical discourse by systematically evaluating the impact of early versus delayed surgical decompression on clinical outcomes in our local population. The study would not only add evidence to the global and local data but would also help the surgeons to choose the better technique in future as the technique with better outcome would be preferred in future among all the local patients who will present to our hospital with acute SCI. Adopting the treatment strategy with better outcome would also help to reduce the overall morbidity associated with a cute SCI in our local population.

Finally objectives are , to compare the outcome of early versus delayed surgical decompression among patients presenting with traumatic spinal cord injury in a tertiary care hospital.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
      • Rawalpindi, Pakistan
        • Recruiting
        • Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

• Patients presenting with spinal cord injury (both cervical and thoracic)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients presenting with spinal cord injury (both cervical and thoracic) as per described in the operational definition
  • Age from 18-60 years
  • Both male and female patients

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with penetrating spinal injuries such as gunshot/stab wounds
  • Patients with pre-existing neurological conditions like myelopathy etc.
  • Patients with any kind of malignancy
  • Patients having CSF infection etc.
  • Patients who are not fit for general anesthesia (i.e. ASA Grade >2 Annexure-B)
  • Diagnosis of subclinical or clinical polyneuropathy
  • Non-traumatic or pathological fractures or cord compression
  • Inability to cooperate with preoperative physical examination because of cognitive impairment
  • Patients with previous spinal column or SCI.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
improvement in neurological impairment using ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS)
Time Frame: 12 Weeks after surgery
Treatment outcomes will be measured 12 weeks after early or delayed surgical decompression among all the patients who underwent spinal cord injury in terms of improvement in neurological impairment using ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) attached as annexure-C. Outcome will be labelled as good if shows improvement for at least two AIS grades.
12 Weeks after surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fauji Foundation Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 30, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 7, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 7, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 7, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 999/RC/FFH/RWP

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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