Injury question

[sportschick]

Has anybody ever heard of a kersign (sp) injury? It would involve the upper chest and ribs.

 

[DocTalk]

For those of you who care, I answered this in a PM. Always willing to help my bretheren in the media. Write anytime!

 

[DyePack]

So what was the answer?

 

[sportschick]

I don't think Doc'll mind if I post this PM.

Do you mean Kerr's sign? This describes a change in texture of the skin on the chest in spinal cord injured patients. When the spinal cord is damaged, there are two levels of damage: one is the motor loss and the other is the sensory loss. Kerr's sign helps to assess the sensory loss level.

 

[Oz]

Never heard of that injury.

 

[sportschick]

Never heard of that injury.

Neither had my med school-attending brother. I'm betting somebody was trying to throw my reporter off by using an uncommon term.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Never heard of that injury.

Neither had my med school-attending brother. I'm betting somebody was trying to throw my reporter off by using an uncommon term.

I'm not sure I agree. There's no simple way to describe it. Better to tell us the real term than keep us guessing, or worse, dumb down something and misinform us, who in turn will misinform everyone who reads the story.

 

[DocTalk]

Never heard of that injury.

Neither had my med school-attending brother. I'm betting somebody was trying to throw my reporter off by using an uncommon term.

The injury is of the spinal cord. The sign helps decide clinically where the injury is. With today's CT and MRI technology, deciding levels clincally is less important.