The Impact of Mean Arterial Pressure on Functional Outcome Post-Acute Spinal Cord Injury: A Scoping Systematic Review of Animal Models.

The aim of this work was to perform a scoping systematic review on the animal literature surrounding mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and functional outcomes post-acute spinal cord injury (ASCI). We performed a systematic review of the literature by searching: MEDLINE, BIOSIS, EMBASE, Global Health, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Library from inception to January 2015. We also performed a hand search of various published meeting proceedings. Through a two-step review process, using two independent reviewers, we selected articles for the final review based on pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria. Ten studies were included within the final systematic review. A variety of animal models were used within these studies. All included studies had some objective means of documenting functional outcome post-manipulation of the MAP. Four studies could be considered to be "positive studies," showing some neurological improvement or beneficial effect to having the blood pressure manipulated. Two studies displayed worse functional outcomes secondary to episodes of hypotension. Four studies failed to demonstrate a relationship between MAP and functional outcome within the animal models. This review concludes that, within the animal literature, there is insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion about the effect of MAP on neurological outcome in animal models of ASCI.