User:Abennett97/Autonomic dysreflexia/Bibliography

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First paragraph is too long

Add frequency: AD is estimated to occur in 20 to 70 percent of patients with injuries above T6. The severity and frequency of AD attacks varies with the severity of the SCI.

Signs and symptoms paragraph is brief, take info about symptoms from first paragraph and put it under this heading instead

The most common manifestations of AD are headache, diaphoresis, and increased blood pressure. Other recorded symptoms include facial erythema, goosebumps, nasal stuffiness, a "feeling of doom" or apprehension, sweating above the level of injury and dry and pale skin below the level of injury, nausea, and blurred vision. Bradycardia is common, though tachycardia is also possible.

Add more to "Complications" section: Reference 1

"Diagnosis" section needs rewritten

Diagnosis of AD made by measuring an increase in systolic blood pressure greater than 20 to 30mmHg. [10] The symptoms are usually not subtle, although asymptomatic events have been documented. Autonomic dysreflexia differs from autonomic instability, the various modest cardiac and neurological changes that accompany a spinal cord injury, including bradycardia, orthostatic hypotension, and ambient temperature intolerance. Because of this, elevated blood pressures in patients with baseline hypotension may not be recognized unless compared with their baseline levels. Older patients with very incomplete spinal cord injuries and systolic hypertension without symptoms may be experiencing essential hypertension, not autonomic dysreflexia. Treatment of these elderly patients with rapidly acting antihypertensive medications. In autonomic dysreflexia, patients will experience hypertension, sweating, spasms (sometimes severe spasms) and erythema (more likely in upper extremities) and may experience headaches and blurred vision. Move this sentence to prognosis: Mortality is rare with AD, but morbidity such as stroke, retinal hemorrhage and pulmonary edema if left untreated can be quite severe.

"Treatment"

Initial management of AD includes measuring and monitoring blood pressures and sitting the patient upright to attempt to lower blood pressure as well as searching for and correcting the triggering stimuli. Tight clothing and stockings should be removed. Catheterization of the bladder should be performed as well as evaluation for possible urinary tract infection (UTI). Relief of a blocked urinary catheter tube may resolve the problem, and indwelling catheters should be checked for obstruction. A rectal examination can be performed to clear the rectum of any possible stool impaction. If the noxious precipitating trigger cannot be identified, prompt pharmacologic treatment may be needed to decrease elevating intracranial pressure until further studies can identify the cause. Drug treatment includes the rapidly acting vasodilators, including sublingual or topical nitrates or oral hydralazine or clonidine. Ganglionic blockers can also used to control sympathetic nervous system outflow. Topical nitroglycerin ointment is a convenient and safe treatment—an inch or two can be applied to the chest wall or forehead, and wiped off when blood pressures begin to normalize. Epidural anesthesia has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing AD in women in labor, though there is less evidence for its use in reducing AD during general surgical procedures.

Rewriting this paragraph: Proper treatment of autonomic dysreflexia involves administration of anti-hypertensives along with immediate determination and removal of the triggering stimuli. Often, sitting the patient up and dangling legs over the bedside can reduce blood pressures below dangerous levels and provide partial symptom relief. Tight clothing and stockings should be removed. Straight catheterization of the bladder or relief of a blocked urinary catheter tube may resolve the problem. The rectum should be cleared of stool impaction, using anaesthetic lubricating jelly. If the noxious precipitating trigger cannot be identified, drug treatment is needed to decrease elevating intracranial pressure until further studies can identify the cause.[citation needed]

Drug treatment includes the rapidly acting vasodilators, including sublingual or topical nitrates or oral hydralazine or clonidine. Ganglionic blockers are also used to control sympathetic nervous system outflow. Topical nitroglycerin ointment is a convenient and safe treatment—an inch or two can be applied to the chest wall or forehead, and wiped off when blood pressures begin to normalize. Autonomic dysreflexia is abolished temporarily by spinal or general anaesthesia. These treatments are used during obstetric delivery of women with autonomic dysreflexia.[citation needed]

"Prognosis"

Mortality is rare with AD, but morbidity such as stroke, retinal hemorrhage and pulmonary edema if left untreated can be quite severe. The various causes of autonomic dysreflexia itself can be life-threatening, and must also be completely investigated and treated appropriately to prevent unnecessary morbidity and mortality.[citation needed]

Attacks can be prevented by recognizing and avoiding triggering stimuli. Because bladder distension is a common trigger of AD, botulinum toxin used to treat bladder dysfunction in SCI may be effective in reducing attacks. Prophylactic use of nifedipine, prazosin, and terazosin has also been reported to prevent attacks. Topical analgesics such as lidocaine and bupivacaine are also commonly used to reduce episodes of AD triggered by bowel and bladder management, though their effectiveness in reducing AD remains inconclusive.

The Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine has developed evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the management of autonomic dysreflexia in adults, children, and pregnant women. There is also a consumer version of this guideline.