title: Predictors of mortality in veterans with traumatic spinal cord injury.
abstract: METHODS
  Retrospective.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the predictors of mortality in veterans with traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary clinic in the state of Oklahoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and forty-seven patients with tSCI who were enrolled in our Spinal Cord Injury program from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2011 were retrospectively studied. The study sample was divided into two groups, based on the survival status by 31 December 2011.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this sample of 147 patients with tSCI, survival at the end of the 12-year study period was 60%. There were three major causes of death: infection-related, such as pneumonia (21%), urinary infection (14%), and infection of the pressure ulcers (11%); cardiovascular-related, such as congestive heart failure (16%), coronary arterial disease (13%), and atrial fibrillation (2%); and cancer-related (16%). In veterans with complete SCI, deaths were mainly infection-related and occurred in the hospital (51%), while deaths in veterans with incomplete SCI were primarily cardiovascular and cancer-related and occurred in the community. A Cox regression analysis showed the age at the time of injury to be the main predictor of SCI-related mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that an older age at the time of injury is a significant predictor of mortality following tSCI with patients more likely to die from cardiovascular deaths than the general population. These findings support the need for preventative strategies, including a focus on cardiovascular risk factor management, in order to decrease long-term mortality.
authors.affiliation: 1] Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA [2] Department of Neurology at the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rabadi
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mayanna
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Vincent
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D013997:Time Factors; D014728:Veterans