title: Comparison of patients managed in specialised spinal rehabilitation units with those managed in non-specialised rehabilitation units.
abstract: METHODS
  Prospective open cohort study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Compare the demographic characteristics and rehabilitation outcomes for both non-traumatic SCI (NT-SCI) and traumatic SCI (T-SCI) patients admitted into either specialist spinal cord injury rehabilitation units (SCIRUs) or non-specialist rehabilitation units (NSRUs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Rehabilitation units in Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre maintains a national database on inpatients admitted to most (130/145) public and private rehabilitation units in Australia. Patients were included if they had a diagnosis of spinal cord injury (SCI) and were discharged between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006. Patients were excluded if admitted for <7 days, only for assessment, or were a readmission following a previous SCI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 668 patients with confirmed SCI admitted (NT-SCI n=361, 54.0%; T-SCI n=307, 46.0%). NT-SCI patients were much less likely to be admitted into a specialist SCIRU (30.5%) compared with T-SCI patients (70.4%). For both NT-SCI and T-SCI patients, those admitted to a specialist SCIRU tended to be younger (P=0.000), have a longer length of stay in rehabilitation (P=0.000), and lower Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor subscale score on admission (P=0.000) than those admitted to a NSRU. For NT-SCI patients, after adjusting for covariates, those admitted into specialist SCIRU had greater improvement in their FIM motor score during rehabilitation. This finding was not demonstrated in T-SCI patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are differences in the characteristics of SCI patients admitted to SCIRU compared with NSRU. NT-SCI patients admitted to SCIRU have greater functional gain.
authors.affiliation: Spinal Rehabilitation Unit, Caulfield Hospital, Alfred Health, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia. p.new@cgmc.org.au
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: New
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simmonds
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stevermuer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001315:Australia; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D013038:Specialization; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome