Emergency Management of Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression

Abstract

Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression (MSCC) is one of the major forms of oncological emergencies. Other common emergency scenarios seen in cancer patients include Neutropenic Sepsis, Hypercalcemia and Superior Vena Cava Obstruction (SVCO). During this brief discussion of MSCC we will be going over the red flag symptoms a patient may present with common malignancies. We shall go through the points that are associated with and the multidisciplinary management of MSCC. A patient presenting to the emergency room with symptoms including recent onset back pain [1, 2], in the extremes of age (i.e. <20 or >55), with a history of weight loss, pyrexia, night sweats, sensory loss, leg weakness, constant pain at night and at rest and/or complains of urinary retention, fecal incontinence should have MSCC considered in differential diagnosis and appropriate work up should be considered.