Demographics, Clinical Characteristics and Functional Outcome of Non-Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Undergoing Inpatient Rehabilitation in University Malaya Medical Centre

Jern Tung Choong; Julia Patrick Engkasan

Authors

Jern Tung Choong
Julia Patrick Engkasan University of Malaya

Keywords:

etiology, demography, functional outcome, spinal cord injury, rehabilitation

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the demographics and functioning of patients with non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI) undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

Study design: Retrospective study.

Setting: A tertiary hospital in Malaysia.

Subjects: Patients (N = 141) with NTSCI who had undergone initial inpatient rehabilitation between 1^st January 2015 to 31^st December 2019.

Methods: This was a retrospective study design where informa-tion was obtained from patients’ electronic medical records. The etiology of NTSCI, demographic information, length of stay in rehabilitation, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade at initial rehabilitation and discharge, and Spinal Cord Injury Independence Measure Version III (SCIM III) score at initial rehabilitation and discharge, were recorded and analyzed.

Results: A total of 141 patients with NTSCI were referred for inpatient rehabilitation. The mean age was 58.1 years (range 20-88), and 59.6% were men. The mean duration of inpatient rehabilitation was 32.3 days (range 7-198). The top three etiology were spine degeneration (34.0%), spine neoplasms (30.5%), and infection (23.4%). The commonest neurological impairment was incomplete paraplegia (52.5%). Most patients were classified as AIS D (n=84, 60.4%); only 14 (10.1%) patients were found to be AIS A. The mean difference of SCIM III score between initial and completion of rehabilitation all NTSCI etiologies achieve clinical significance, with mean score ranges from 12.7 to 21.9 points.

Conclusions: Spine degeneration and spine neoplasm were the most common etiology of NTSCI in this study. Regardless of the etiology of NTSCI, all patients benefited from inpatient rehabilitation program, and had similar functional gain.

Keywords: etiology, demography, functional outcome, spinal cord injury, rehabilitation

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