Diagnosis

Before diagnosing spinal cord infarction, exclude other, more common, causes of acute paraplegia, for example, Guillain-Barre syndrome, cord compression, and transverse myelitis.

Check for causes of infarction:

• arterial compression / occlusion - space occupying lesions, e.g. tumour; abscess; dissecting aneurysm; recent aortic surgery
  
  
• embolic occlusion - aortic arteriography; Caisson's disease
  
  
• small blood vessel disease - diabetes; polyarteritis nodosa; systemic lupus erythematosus; neurosyphilis, endarteritis secondary to tuberculous meningitis, pneumococcal meningitis, or other infection
  
  
• hypotension