FIG. 4.

Duration of hypotension early after injury is related to poorer neurological recovery. Plots of the proportion of mean arterial pressure (MAP) values below thresholds are shown for patients in 1 mm Hg increments. In (I), all patients with outcome data are plotted, while in (II), patients who were AIS grade A on final neurological assessment were excluded (as denoted by the dashed lines). Values were measured with an arterial line, and times reflect the interval since intensive care unit admission. The black vertical lines denote 85 mmHg, the lower end of the currently accepted target for blood pressure in the first 7 days after spinal cord injury.

I: For the group with 0 AIS grade improvement, n=35 patients and 336,601 measurements at 30 days. For the group with 1 AIS grade improvement, n=23 patients and 183,541 measurements at 30 days. For the group with >1 AIS grade improvement, n=13 patients and 136,278 measurements at 30 days.

II: For the group with 0 AIS grade improvement, n=13 patients and 116,165 measurements at 30 days. For the group with 1 AIS grade improvement n=21 patients and 149,565 measurements at 30 days. For the group with >1 AIS grade improvement, n=10 patients and 67,259 measurements at 30 days. Color image is available online at www.liebertpub.com/neu