Race-ethnicity and poverty after spinal cord injury

Exploring and prioritizing content to include in a medication self-management toolkit for persons with spinal cord injury/dysfunction: A concept mapping approach

BACKGROUND

Adults with spinal cord injury/dysfunction (SCI/D) face challenges with medications they take to manage their secondary conditions (e.g., pain, urinary tract infections, autonomic dysreflexia). With many healthcare providers typically involved in care, there are additional challenges with care fragmentation and self-management. Prior research emphasized the desire for more support with medication self-management among this population.

OBJECTIVE

To explore what content should be included in a medication self-management resource (i.e., toolkit) for adults with SCI/D, as well as considerations for delivery from the perspectives of adults with SCI/D, caregivers, healthcare providers, and representatives from community organizations.

METHODS

A concept mapping study was conducted. Participants took part in one or more of three activities: brainstorming; sorting and rating; and mapping. Participants generated ideas about the content to include in a medication self-management toolkit. Participants sorted the statements into conceptual piles and assigned a name to each. All statements were rated on a five-point Likert-type scale on importance and realistic to include in the toolkit. Participants decided on the final cluster map, rearranged statements, and assigned a name to each cluster to create visual representations of the data.

RESULTS

Forty-four participants took part in this study. The final map contained eight clusters: 1) information-sharing and communication; 2) healthcare provider interactions and involvement; 3) peer and community connections; 4) supports and services for accessing prescription medications and medication information; 5) information on non-prescription medication and medication supplies; 6) safety and lifestyle considerations; 7) general medication information; and 8) practical information and strategies related to medication-taking. Safety and lifestyle considerations was rated as the most important and realistic to include in the toolkit.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the limited tools to help adults with SCI/D with managing their medications, there is great potential to better support this population across all areas of medication self-management.

Opioid Dependence and Associated Health Care Utilization and Cost in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Population: Analysis Using Marketscan Database

Background

Postinjury pain is a well-known debilitating complication of spinal cord injury (SCI), often resulting in long-term, high-dose opioid use with the potential for dependence. There is a gap in knowledge about the risk of opioid dependence and the associated health care utilization and cost in SCI.

Objectives

To evaluate the association of SCI with postinjury opioid use and dependence and evaluate the effect of this opioid dependence on postinjury health care utilization.

Methods

Using the MarketScan Database, health care utilization claims data were queried to extract 7187 adults with traumatic SCI from 2000 to 2019. Factors associated with post-SCI opioid use and dependence, postinjury health care utilization, and payments were analyzed with generalized linear regression models.

Results

After SCI, individuals were more likely to become opioid users or transition from nondependent to dependent users (negative change: 31%) than become nonusers or transition from dependent to nondependent users (positive change: 14%, p < .0001). Individuals who were opioid-dependent users pre-SCI had more than 30 times greater odds of becoming dependent after versus not (OR 34; 95% CI, 26-43). Dependent users after injury (regardless of prior use status) had 2 times higher utilization payments and 1.2 to 6 times more health care utilization than nonusers.

Conclusion

Opioid use and dependence were associated with high health care utilization and cost after SCI. Pre-SCI opioid users were more likely to remain users post-SCI and were heavier consumers of health care. Pre- and postopioid use history should be considered for treatment decision-making in all individuals with SCI.

Pediatric Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in the United States: A National Inpatient Analysis

BACKGROUND

Traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) is a debilitating neurological condition often associated with lifelong disability. Despite this, there are limited data on pediatric tSCI epidemiology in the United States.

OBJECTIVES

Our primary objective was to estimate tSCI hospitalization rates among children, including by age, sex, and race. Secondary objectives were to characterize tSCI hospitalizations and examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and tSCI etiology.

METHODS

We used the 2016 Kids' Inpatient Database to examine tSCI hospitalizations among children (<21 years). Descriptive statistics were used to report individual and care setting characteristics for initial tSCI hospitalizations. We used Census Bureau data to estimate tSCI hospitalization rates (number of pediatric tSCI hospitalizations / number of US children) and logistic regression modeling to assess associations between documented sociodemographic characteristics and injury etiology.

RESULTS

There were 1.48 tSCI admissions per 100,000 children; highest rates of hospitalization involved older (15-20 years), male, and Black children. Hospitalization involving male (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.43; 95% CI, 0.33-0.58) or Black (AOR 0.37; 95% CI, 0.25-0.55) children were less likely to involve a motor traffic accident. Hospitalizations of Black children were significantly more likely to have a diagnosis of tSCI resulting from a firearm incident (AOR 18.97; 95% CI, 11.50-31.28) or assault (AOR 11.76; 95% CI, 6.75-20.50) compared with hospitalizations of White children.

CONCLUSION

Older, male, and Black children are disproportionately burdened by tSCI. Implementation of broad health policies over time may be most effective in reducing pediatric tSCI hospitalizations and preventable injuries.

The association between secondary health conditions and indirect costs after spinal cord injury

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

OBJECTIVE

Identify the association between secondary health conditions (SHC) and the indirect costs of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) based on the pre-injury and post-injury changes in employment and earnings.

SETTING

Medical university in the southeastern United States (US).

METHODS

A population-based cohort of 304 participants met the following eligibility criteria: received treatment for acute SCI within the state, residual effects resulting from traumatic SCI, at least 1-year post injury, age between 23 and 64 years at the time of injury onset, and younger than 65 years at the time of study measurement. The indirect costs estimate was measured by the annual forgone earnings and fringe benefits calculated as the difference in the sum of earnings and benefits between before injury and after injury adjusting for inflation in 2019 US dollars. We considered seven SHC in this study: bowel accidents, urine accidents, urinary tract infections, pressure sores, unintentional injury, severe pain, and depressive disorder. We used multivariate ordinary least squares regression models to examine their relationship controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, years of education, injury level, and ambulatory status.

RESULTS

The indirect costs were significantly associated with the total number of SHC and with the individual conditions of bowel accidents, urine accidents, pressure sores, and depressive disorder after controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, years of education, injury level, and ambulatory status.

CONCLUSIONS

Preventing SHC relates to better economic consequences for individuals, their families, and society, even after accounting for differences in severity of SCI.

Interventions and cognitive functioning in adults with traumatic spinal cord injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIM

This research synthesized scientific evidence on the impact of interventions for adults with traumatic spinal cord injury on cognition, to understand if current intervention approaches are appropriate in light of the risk of post-injury cognitive impairments.

METHOD

Medline, Central, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched for intervention in persons with SCI assessing cognition pre- and post-intervention. Study quality was completed using the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tools. Results were grouped by type of intervention. The meta-analysis involved calculation of pooled effect sizes for interventions utilizing the same cognitive measure.

RESULTS

Eleven studies of moderate quality discussed drug therapy, transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation, diet modification and dietary supplements, and inpatient rehabilitation. Some aspects of cognition were negatively affected by drugs while diet modification and supplement use, and transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation showed no evidence of a difference in cognitive scores when compared with no intervention. Inpatient rehabilitation revealed a small but beneficial effect, when results of seven studies were pooled.

CONCLUSION

Evidence on the effects of interventions on cognitive functioning in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury is sparse and inconclusive, so work in this area is timely. It is valuable to know not only which interventions are effective for improving cognition, but also how other commonly used interventions, intended to treat other injury sequela, can affect cognition. PROSPERO: CRD42018087238.Implications for rehabilitationHistorically, rehabilitation of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury has targeted physical impairments, with little attention to cognition; this research aimed to understand if current interventions are appropriate in light of the risk of patients' cognitive impairments. Evidence on the effects of drug therapy, diet and dietary supplements interventions on cognitive functioning in traumatic spinal cord injury is sparse and inconclusive.Combining multiple inpatient rehabilitation interventions shows a positive but heterogeneous effect on the cognitive functioning; interventions applied earlier show greater gains.A major challenge for clinicians is to select an outcome measure sensitive to change over time, and to relate the results to patients' change in cognitive abilities with intervention applicationResearch to understand the functional effect of spinal cord injury on the widely distributed networks of the central and autonomic nervous systems subserving cognition, is timely.

Outcomes in socioeconomically disadvantaged patients with spinal cord injury: a systematic review

OBJECTIVEIndividuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in socioeconomically disadvantaged settings (e.g., rural or low income) have different outcomes than their counterparts; however, a contemporary literature review identifying and measuring these outcomes has not been published. Here, the authors' aim was to perform a systematic review and identify these parameters in the hope of providing tangible targets for future clinical research efforts.METHODSA systematic review was performed to find English-language articles published from 2007 to 2017 in the PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and SCOPUS databases. Studies evaluating any outcomes related to patients with an SCI and in a low-resource setting were included. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed, and a flowchart was created. Of the 403 articles found, 31 underwent complete review and 26 were eligible for study inclusion. According to the current study criteria, any case studies, studies in less developed countries, studies including and not separating other types of neurological disorders, studies not assessing the effects of a low-resource setting on outcomes in patients with SCI, and studies evaluating the causes of SCI in a low-resource setting were excluded.RESULTSIn SCI patients, a lower income was a predictor of death (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.7-2.6, p = 0.0002). Moreover, secondary outcomes such as pain intensities (OR 3.32, 95% CI 2.21-4.49, p < 0.001), emergency room visits (11% more likely, p = 0.006), and pressure ulcer formation (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-3.0, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the lower income brackets. Rurality was also a factor and was significantly associated with increased emergency room visits (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.1, p = 0.01) and lower outpatient service utilization (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.57, 95% CI 0.35-0.93, p < 0.05).CONCLUSIONSThe authors showed that individuals in a low-resource setting who have suffered an SCI have significantly different outcomes than their counterparts. These specific outcomes are promising targets for future research efforts that focus on improving health conditions among this population.

Polypharmacy and adverse drug events among propensity score matched privately insured persons with and without spinal cord injury

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective quasi-experimental design.

OBJECTIVES

To compare the incidence of adverse drug events (ADEs) between persons with and without spinal cord injury (SCI), while controlling for all potential and available risk factors.

SETTING

A commercially available claims dataset consisting of ~170 million patient cases in the United States between 2012 and 2013.

METHODS

Participants (aged 18-64 years) included 2779 persons with polypharmacy and traumatic or non-traumatic SCI and 2779 propensity score-matched persons with polypharmacy without SCI. The cohorts were matched using demographic variables including number of concomitant prescriptions, comorbidities, hospital admissions, age, gender, and geographic region. Inpatient and outpatient claims records containing 395 distinct IDC-9 codes indicative of ADEs were extracted. Incidence and frequency of ADEs were compared between groups using logistic and Poisson regression, respectively.

RESULTS

Persons with SCI were significantly more likely to experience an ADE than matched controls (Odds Ratio = 1.45, p < 0.0001). Among persons with ADEs (n = 1552), individuals with SCI experienced fewer ADEs over time than matched controls (Incidence Rate Ratio = 0.91, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

While persons with SCI and polypharmacy are at a greater risk for experiencing an ADE, their medical care after an ADE may be better managed than that of a matched control population. There may be a need for practice guidelines that facilitate proactive identification of persons with SCI at the highest risk of ADE. Steps may then be taken to mitigate risk, in contrast to current practice trends that appear to take a reactive approach after an ADE has occurred.

Dose and Duration of Opioid Use in Propensity Score-Matched, Privately Insured Opioid Users With and Without Spinal Cord Injury

OBJECTIVES

To (1) compare the opioid utilization patterns in opioid users with spinal cord injury (SCI) to a propensity score-matched general population of opioid users without SCI; and (2) identify characteristics of persons with SCI associated with long-term and/or high-dose use of opioids.

DESIGN

Quasi-experimental analysis of archival data.

SETTING

Data used for the analysis were derived from Thompson Reuters MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Databases for the years 2012 to 2013.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants (N=2908; aged 18-64y) included opioid users with SCI (n=1454) and propensity score-matched opioid users without SCI (n=1454). The cohorts were matched using demographics including comorbidities, hospital admissions, age, sex, and geographic region.

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Medical and pharmacy claims from 2012 to 2013 MarketScan data were analyzed to characterize whether persons were short-term (<90d) or long-term (≥90d) opioid users, and whether persons had high (≥120mg) or low (<120mg) average daily morphine equivalents.

RESULTS

Persons with SCI were significantly more likely to be long-term users of low-dose, short-acting opioids (P<.0001) and more likely to be taking high morphine-equivalent doses of long-acting opioids (P<.0001) than matched controls. Among persons with SCI, those with lumbar/sacral injuries had more days' supply of high-dose, long-acting opioids than did persons with thoracic or cervical injuries.

CONCLUSIONS

Persons with SCI are prescribed opioids for longer durations and at higher morphine-equivalent doses than controls, which may increase the risk of opioid dependence or adverse drug events. Findings should be considered in the development of practice guidelines for alternate pain management options or opioid dependence interventions for persons with SCI.

Thermodysregulation in persons with spinal cord injury: case series on use of the autonomic standards

INTRODUCTION

The ability to maintain core body temperature (Tcore) within a narrow range (37 ± 0.6 °C), despite exposure to a wide range of ambient temperatures, is essential in order to provide an optimal environment for vital organs, the central nervous system (CNS), and cellular processes to function. High-level (above T6) spinal cord injury (SCI) interrupts the autonomic nervous system's ability to carry out hypothalamic regulation of thermoregulatory mechanisms for both heat dissipation and conservation. This interruption leaves persons with high-level SCI vulnerable to hyper and hypothermia even during exposure to relatively mild ambient temperatures. The goal of the Autonomic Standards is to enable the clinician to quickly identify those individuals with SCI who may be most at risk for thermoregulatory dysfunction.

CASE PRESENTATION

Case 1: Heat Exhaustion, Case 2: Heat Stroke in absence of CNS symptoms, Case 3: Heat Exhaustion.

DISCUSSION

The three cases demonstrate the signs and symptoms that may accompany hyperthermia in persons with SCI. The onset may be quite rapid and the condition persistent, despite ambient temperatures being much less intense than expected to be necessary to induce similar conditions in able-bodied (AB) persons. The responses of the persons in the case studies to the temperature regulation and autonomic control of sweating sections of the Autonomic Standards would identify them as being vulnerable and warrant providing appropriate exposure guidelines and precautions to them and their caregivers.

Integrated services and early intervention in the vocational rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries

INTRODUCTION

The design was a narrative review. The objective of the study was to investigate the potential for early vocational rehabilitation (VR) interventions for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in overcoming barriers in returning to work, and to pinpoint factors contributing to effectiveness in early VR intervention for this population. The setting was at Queensland, Australia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Synthesis of the findings of a literature search of online databases ProQuest and CINAHL, using keywords relating to the employment situation and VR of people with SCI. Themes were identified and analysed in accordance with the research objectives.

RESULTS

Despite increasing government commitment to the workforce and social participation of people with disabilities, Australians living with SCI have significantly diminished employment outcomes compared with the general population. Current VR approaches usually do not commence until some months post discharge, potentially missing a window of opportunity to preserve pre-existing employment or assist in vocational decision making. The review found that there are opportunities for enhancing VR service provision following SCI, namely integrating the VR programme within the primary rehabilitation team thus facilitating early VR intervention.

DISCUSSION

Emerging evidence shows promising results for early intervention in VR; however, questions remain regarding ideal intervention approaches, and it is clear that further empirical investigation is required to support the use of early intervention models post SCI. The study was sponsored by Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC).

Race and rehabilitation following spinal cord injury: equality of access for American Indians/Alaska Natives compared to other racial groups

Background

Representing 2 % of the general population, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) were associated with 0.5 % (63) of the estimated 12,500 new cases of spinal cord injury (SCI) reported to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistic Center in 2013. To date, the trend in health care disparities among AIs/ANs in the SCI community has not been examined. We sought to compare the rate of discharge to rehabilitation facilities (DRF) following traumatic SCI among adult AIs/ANs to other racial/ethnic groups for patients 15 to 64 years old.

Methods

Utilizing data from the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB), we performed a retrospective analysis of SCI cases occurring between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2012. SCI injuries were identified by International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision-Clinical Modification (ICD-9) codes or Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores. Injury severity was determined using the Trauma Mortality Prediction Model (TMPM) which empirically estimates each patient’s probability of death given their individual complement of injuries. A series of seven logistic regression models were used to predict DRF between racial groups.

Results

Among the 29,443 patients in our cohort, 52.4 % were discharged to rehabilitation facilities. AIs/ANs comprised 1.1 % of the population, with 63.8 % dismissed to rehabilitation. AIs/ANs were significantly younger, had a higher probability of death, had longer hospital length of stay (HLOS), and were proportionately more likely to be discharged to rehabilitation compared to non-AIs. Regression models demonstrated increased odds of DRF for AIs/ANs compared to Hispanic and Asian racial/ethnic groups.

Conclusions

American Indians/Alaska Natives who sustain SCI access rehabilitative care at a rate equitable to or greater than other races when multiple factors are taken into account. Further research is needed to assess the effect of those patient, physician, and health care system determinants as they relate to a patient’s ability to access post-trauma rehabilitative care. Recommendations include advancing the level of racial, insurance, and geographic data necessary to adequately explore disparities related to such ubiquitously life-altering conditions as SCI.

The Effect of Injury-Related Characteristics on Changes in Marital Status after Spinal Cord Injury

BACKGROUND

Spinal cord injury (SCI) imposes a significant burden on the social and marital life. Here, we assessed the divorce rate and changes in marital status among a sample of Iranian individuals with SCI.

METHODS

Referred patients to Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center were invited to participate in this cross-sectional investigation. The Main exclusion criteria were coincidental brain injury, history of chronic diseases before SCI and substance use. Demographic characteristics (including age, gender, educational level, marital status before and after injury and duration of marriage) and Injury characteristics (level of the injury, American spinal injury association (ASIA) scale and Spinal cord independence measure III (SCIM)) were collected.

RESULTS

Total of 241 subjects with SCI participated in this investigation (164 (68%) male and 77 (32%) female). Among men, 16.5% [95% CI: 10.81%-22.18%] and among women 18.2% [95% CI: 9.58%-26.81%] got divorced after injury. Duration of marriage before injury was significantly related to lower divorce rate (P< 0.001 and 0.016 in men and women, respectively). Injury characteristics had no relationship with marital longevity. Age was a protective factor against marital dissolution only in men (P< 0.004).

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed the divorce rate of 17% [95% CI: 13%-20.9%] after SCI in a sample of Iranian population. The protective influence of age in maintenance of marriage was only detected in men, which proposes existence of a sexual polymorphism in the role of age. Divorce rate was similar between two genders and injury characteristics were not related to divorce rate as well.

Diabetes increases financial burden of individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI)

STUDY DESIGN

Secondary analysis of existing data.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the association of diabetes with family income in a pooled 15-year cohort of individuals with TSCI.

SETTING

A large specialty hospital in the southeastern United States.

METHODS

A total number of 1408 individuals identified with TSCI were surveyed regarding family income as well as clinical and demographic factors. Due to income being reported in censored intervals rather than individual dollar values, interval regression was used to estimate models of the association of family income with diabetes.

RESULTS

Approximately 12% of individuals with TSCI reported being diagnosed with diabetes. The most frequent family income interval in our sample was <$10,000, lower than the poverty threshold. The family income interval with the highest rate of diabetes was $15,000-$20,000. In an unadjusted model, diabetes was associated with a significant reduction of $8749 and in a fully adjusted model, diabetes was significantly associated with a reduction of $8560 in family income. Being a minority was also significantly associated with a reduction whereas educational attainment was associated with increased family income. TSCI severity was not significantly related to family income.

CONCLUSION

Diabetes imposes an additional financial burden on individuals with TSCI an already vulnerable population with high health care costs. The burden is more pronounced in minorities with TSCI. Providers should be aware of the higher prevalence of diabetes among patients with TSCI and pursue a policy of testing early and vigilant management. Further studies are needed regarding special interventions for managing diabetes in the TSCI population.