title: The economic burden of traumatic spinal cord injury in Canada.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study is to estimate the current lifetime economic burden of traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) in Canada from a societal perspective, including both direct and indirect costs, using an incidence-based approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  Available resource use and cost information for complete/incomplete tetraplegia and paraplegia was applied to the estimated annual incidence of tSCI, by severity, in Canada.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The estimated lifetime economic burden per individual with tSCI ranges from $1.5 million for incomplete paraplegia to $3.0 million for complete tetraplegia. The annual economic burden associated with 1389 new persons with tSCI surviving their initial hospitalization is estimated at $2.67 billion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the number of injuries per year in Canada is relatively small, the annual economic burden is substantial.
authors.affiliation: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Krueger
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Trenaman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rivers
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: economic burden; morbidity; mortality; traumatic spinal cord injury