Trends in spinal cord injury demographics and treatment outcomes between 1973 and 1986

A study of the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center database on 6,563 persons treated at Spinal Cord Injury Care Systems was conducted to detect demographic and treatment outcome trends over time. Data from the initial hospitalization and first two years postinjury were divided into four time periods based on injury year (1973 to 1977, 1978 to 1980, 1981 to 1983, 1984 to 1986). Between 1973 and 1986, mean age at injury increased, as did the percentage of nonwhites and the percentage of persons with quadriplegia, while the percentage of neurologically complete lesions decreased. There was an increase in long-term use of intermittent catheterization. Ventilator use during hospitalization also increased. Mean lengths of stay for acute care and rehabilitation decreased, although mean inflation-adjusted hospital charges increased. The percentage of persons rehospitalized during the second postinjury year decreased substantially. From 1973 to 1986, for persons admitted to the model system within 24 hours of injury, there was a 66% decrease in the risk of dying within the first two years postinjury. Overall, these data document changing demographics and treatment practices as well as an improved prognosis for persons with spinal cord injuries.

The influence of age at time of spinal cord injury on rehabilitation outcome

The purpose of this study was to compare the experiences of older and younger patients with spinal cord injury. Data from 866 patients hospitalized between 1973 and 1985 were analyzed by age at injury. Outcomes were measured at discharge and 2 years after injury. Patients who were at least 61 years of age were 2.1 times more likely to have developed pneumonia, 2.7 times more likely to have experienced a gastrointestinal hemorrhage, 5.6 times more likely to have developed pulmonary emboli, and 16.8 times more likely to have had renal stones prior to first definitive discharge than their 16- to 30-year-old counterparts. Patients who were at least 61 years of age were 3.9 times more likely to have been rehospitalized during the second postinjury year than patients in the 16- to 30-year-old age group; 2.1 times more likely to have required artificial ventilatory support prior to discharge; 22.7 times more likely to have been discharged to a nursing home; 71.8 times more likely to be in a nursing home 2 years after injury; and 7.3 times more likely to have used hired attendants during the second postinjury year. Two-year survival rates were 59% for patients aged 61 to 86 years and 95% for patients aged 16 to 30 years. Although the prognosis for most patients with spinal cord injury has improved in recent years, older patients still have a comparatively poor prognosis.

Cause of death for patients with spinal cord injuries

An epidemiologic study of 5131 patients sustaining spinal cord injuries between 1973 and 1980 was conducted to determine and characterize the leading causes of death in this population. Patients who were studied had been admitted to one of seven federally designated regional spinal cord injury care systems and they survived for at least 24 hours after injury. When follow-up was terminated, 459 patients (9%) had died. Overall, the leading cause of death was pneumonia, followed by other subsequent unintentional injuries and suicides. The highest ratios of actual to expected deaths were for septicemia, pulmonary emboli, and pneumonia. Pneumonia was the leading cause of death among quadriplegics and persons at least 55 years of age, while among paraplegics and persons who were less than 55 years of age, subsequent unintentional injuries and suicides were the leading causes of death. While there is conclusive evidence that mortality rates for spinal-cord injured persons have declined dramatically since the end of World War II, many cause-specific mortality rates remain substantially above normal.

Seven-year survival following spinal cord injury

This retrospective study of 5131 persons who sustained a spinal cord injury between 1973 and 1980 sought to determine the overall seven-year survival rate and the effect of several prognostic factors on survival. All study subjects had been treated at one of seven federally designated Model Regional Spinal Cord Injury Care Systems and each had survived at least 24 hours after injury. The cumulative seven-year survival was 86.7%. Advancing age at time of injury and being rendered a neurologically complete quadriplegic were significant prognostic factors. The cumulative seven-year survival among neurologically complete quadriplegics who were at least 50 years of age when injured, was only 22.7%. Spinal cord injury mortality rates ranged from 3.26 to 20.78 times higher than corresponding rates for nonspinal injured persons. Although mortality rates for spinal cord injury patients have declined dramatically since World War II, life expectancies for these patients are still substantially below normal.

Employment after spinal cord injury

A predictive model for employment after spinal cord injury was developed. The study population consisted of 154 spinal cord injured persons who were treated at our hospital between 1973 and 1979, and followed for seven years after injury. Demographic, social, and injury severity data were abstracted from each subject's hospital record. Motivation to work, employment history, and sources of postinjury financial support, were assessed by a vocational rehabilitation counselor. The study population was divided into four groups: persons continuously unemployed after injury, homemakers, students, and those employed at some time during the seven-year follow-up period. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to develop a predictive model that ultimately included seven variables: gender, motivation to work, whether the patient's last job required ambulation, race, educational level, a functional ability score, and whether the patient had children. The model correctly classified 82% of those persons who were continuously unemployed, 100% of homemakers, 63% of students, and 72% of employed subjects. Overall, 79% of subjects were classified correctly. The most important classification errors were between the unemployed and employed groups. Seventeen percent of employed patients were incorrectly classified as unemployed, and 11% of unemployed patients were incorrectly classified as employed. Although there are other determinants of postinjury vocational status, individual potential can be assessed by means of a comparatively small set of predictor variables.