Comparison of medical complications following nontraumatic and traumatic spinal cord injury.
BACKGROUND
Nontraumatic spinal cord injury (NT/SCI) has been shown to represent a significant proportion of individuals admitted for SCI rehabilitation. Although medical complications of patients with traumatic SCI (T/SCI) have been well studied, there is a paucity of literature regarding those with nontraumatic SCI. Our objective was to compare the incidence of secondary SCI medical complications in patients with nontraumatic and traumatic SCI.


METHODS
A 2-year prospective data comparison of 117 patients with SCI admitted to a regional SCI rehabilitation unit and tertiary university medical center was undertaken. NT/SCI was defined as spinal stenosis, tumorous compression, vascular ischemia, and infectious etiologies.


METHODS
Outcome measures included secondary SCI medical complications, injury characteristics, demographics, and rehabilitation outcomes. Statistical analyses were conducted between the 38 NT/SCI and 79 T/SCI who met admission criteria for acute inpatient rehabilitation.


RESULTS
Statistically significant differences (P<.05) between nontraumatic and traumatic SCI were noted for deep venous thrombosis (7.9% vs 22.8%), pressure ulcers (21.1% vs 41.8%), autonomic dysreflexia (0% vs 24.1%), pneumonia (2.6% vs 26.6%), orthostatic hypotension (5.3% vs 36.7%), spasticity (21.1% vs 44.3%), and wound infections (16% vs 3%). Similar incidences were found for depression (23.7% vs 26.6%), urinary tract infections (52.6% vs 67.1%), heterotopic ossification (2.6% vs 7.6%), pain at admission (55.3% vs 62.0%), and gastrointestinal bleed (2.6% vs 2.5%). In addition, significant differences were noted between NT/SCI and T/SCI for age (55 years vs 39 years), rehabilitation length of stay (26.4 days vs 43.0 days), and neurologically complete injury (5.3% vs 45.6%).


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that patients with NT/SCI present with different incidences of secondary SCI medical complications when compared with individuals with T/SCI. These data, along with differences in demographics, clinical presentation, and rehabilitation outcomes, have important implications for the medical, rehabilitation management, and long-term outcome of individuals with NT/SCI.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Hospital, Richmond 23298, USA. wmckinle@hsc.vcu.edu
William O
WO
McKinley
Michael A
MA
Tewksbury
Christopher J
CJ
Godbout
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013997:Time Factors; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices