Transcutaneous gas tensions in the sacrum during the acute phase of spinal cord injury.

The first few months following injury to the spinal cord requires constant care of the subject if tissue breakdown is to be avoided. The management of acute traumatic cases involves complete bedrest in a supine position with appropriately positioned pillows to minimize trauma to the bone prominences. This study assesses the effectiveness of the management procedure in terms of the tissue response at the sacrum of 15 acute spinal cord injured subjects. The measurement of mean interface pressures during a representative period of recumbency was performed and these were related to changes in transcutaneous gas tensions (TcPO2 and TcPCO2), which are reliable indices of tissue viability. A series of six variables was established which were compared to each other using non-parametric statistical analyses. It was shown that this group of subjects demonstrated a normal mechanism whereby the level of carbon dioxide was able to control the local vascular tone. The results also suggested that the practice of gapping at the sacrum should be revised to reduce mean sacral pressures and minimize the possibility of tissue breakdown, the risk of which is constant throughout the first three months following injury.