International standards of classification of neurological and functional deficities in spinal cord injury The effective management of patients with acute spinal cord injury (SCI) depends upon accurate clinical examination and classification of the neurological injury and detailed radiological assessment of the vertebral column injury.15 The most useful clinical classification is based on the assessment of the functional neurological damage as determined by the clinical examination rather than on other criteria such as the pathological, electrophysiological, or imaging features. Accurate clinical and radiological assessments permit the development of a rational treatment plan and the determination of the likely prognosis. The neurological assessment and classification must be sufficiently reliable to allow accurate comparisons of serial observationsby the same or different observers. In the early 1990s, the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) convened consensus meetings of representatives from several disciplines involved in the management of patients with acute SCI and from several countries, and in 1992, ASIA along with the International Medical Society of Paraplegia (IMSOP) published the International Standards for Neurological and Functional Classification of Spinal Cord Injury.1 This new ASIA/ IMSOP classification is a considerable improvement and should be used by all physicians and surgeons who manage patients with acute SCI, just as the Glasgow Coma Scale is used to assess head injuries.

Tratamentul efectiv al pacienţilor cu Traumatizm vertebromedular cervical acut depinde în mare măsură de examinarile clinice obiective şi aprecierea corectă a dereglărilor neurologice, precum şi a gradului afectărilor a coloanei vertebrale obiectivizate radiologic. Clasificarea clinică reflectă gradul dereglărilor neurologice apreciate prin studierea numai a statusului neurologic, fiind corect din consideraţia altor date precum ar fi examinările electrofiziologice, patologice sau imagistice. Investigaţiile clinice si radiologice permit de a elabora planul optim al tratamentului şi de aprecia prognosticul maladiei. Standardizarea aprecierii deficitului neurologic prin utilizarea clasificării unice permite efectuarea comparativă a rezultatelor tratamentului în diferite laturi de pacienţi. La începutul anilor 90 American Spine Injury Assosiasion (ASIA) porneşte cu iniţiativa de alaborarea a consensului interdisciplinar pentru specialiştii din diferite ţări care se ocupă de Traumatizmul vertebromedular cervical şi în 1992 si a fost primită de către Asociaţia Internatională a paraplegiei “International Medical Society of Paraplegia”- IMSOP a adoptat în calitate de standard internaţional clasificării dificitelor neurologice funcţionale a Trauatizmului vertebromedular de către ISCSCI-1992 : ”International Standards for Neurological and Functional Classification of Spinal Cord Injury”.Aceasta clasificare numita ASIA/IMSOP este recomandată medicilor şi chirurgilor care sunt preocupaţi de pacienţii cu traumatizm vertebromedular acut la fel ca şi scara Glascow pentru gradul afectării cerebrale.