title: The correlation between ventricular repolarization and clinical severity of spinal cord injuries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alteration in ventricular repolarization has been reported in patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). However, its clinical impact remains unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between SCIs and ventricular repolarization and the associated clinical impact.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred forty-four patients with an SCI were retrospectively reviewed and were divided into two groups (SCI level ≤ T6, n = 110; SCI level >T6, n = 34). The electrocardiograms were reviewed during acute phase (at emergency room) and chronic phase (>1 year).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences in the underlying diseases or in ASIA score between the two groups, except there were more patients with tetraplegia among those with an SCI level ≤ T6. For the electrophysiological parameters from the electrocardiograms, the patients with an SCI level ≤ T6 had longer QTc and PR interval than those with an SCI level >T6 during acute phase. In the chronic phase, there were no differences in the electrophysiological parameters between the two groups. Only in patients with an SCI level ≤ T6 did a Kaplan-Meier analysis show that QTc prolongation could predict 30-day mortality after the acute injury. After multivariate Cox regression analysis, only tetraplegia and QTc prolongation were independent predictors of 30-day mortality (odds ratios 7.85 and 34.62, respectively). In patients with an SCI level ≤ T6, the QTc intervals were shorter in the chronic phase than those during the acute phase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QTc interval was associated with the level of acute SCI and predicted the 30-day mortality.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fa-Po
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Yu-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Tze-Fan
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higa
authors.forename: Henrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Yenn-Jiang
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shih-Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Li-Wei
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Ta-Chuan
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Tuan
authors.forename: Ching-Tai
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: Cheng-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yung-Kuo
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shih-Ann
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015996:Survival Rate; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D018754:Ventricular Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*