Abstract
This study was intended to test whether patients undergoing cervical spinal cord surgery had an apparent increase in urinary output during the early postoperative period in comparison with cervical spinal canal surgery. Twenty-three consecutive patients undergoing cervical spine surgery were allocated retrospectively to two groups: spinal cord surgery (n=13) and cervical spinal canal surgery without any spinal cord procedure (n=10). Although intraoperative administered fluids volume, estimated blood loss as well as postoperative fluids regimen were similar in either procedure, patients undergoing spinal cord surgery had significant higher urinary output than those undergoing spinal canal surgery during the early postoperative period through the first postoperative morning (2.0ml·kg-1·hr-1vs. 1.2ml·kg-1·hr-1, P<0.01). Results suggest that a transient, but an apparent increase in urinary output can occur following spinal cord surgery, even though precise mechanism remains to be elucidated.
