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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Treatment For Lower Thoracic Spinal Cord Injuries

Hello, I am a nursing student trying to understand lower thoracic spinal cord injuries and how they affect lab values like CBC, electrolytes, platelets, ect. I know RBC, hbg, hct would be low because of internal bleeding/surgery but I am confused on how spinal injuries affect electrolytes. Would the have hypocalcemia, hypernatremia, ect and why?
posted on Fri, 31 Oct 2014
Twitter Sat, 31 Oct 2015 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 2 Nov 2015 Last reviewed on
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Orthopaedic Surgeon,  's  Response
It will not cause Hypocalcaemia but rather persons with Vitamin D deficiency can have Hypocalcaemia as well which can cause brittle bones as in Osteoporosis in elderly persons and lead to fragility Fractures of the spine. If CBC white cells are raised it could suggest infection in the spine or meninges. Repeated blood transfusions during surgery without calcium replacement can also cause Hypocalcaemia.
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Suggest Treatment For Lower Thoracic Spinal Cord Injuries

It will not cause Hypocalcaemia but rather persons with Vitamin D deficiency can have Hypocalcaemia as well which can cause brittle bones as in Osteoporosis in elderly persons and lead to fragility Fractures of the spine. If CBC white cells are raised it could suggest infection in the spine or meninges. Repeated blood transfusions during surgery without calcium replacement can also cause Hypocalcaemia.