title: Survival in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury receiving structured follow-up in South India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the survival in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) receiving structured follow-up in South India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rehabilitation center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Persons with traumatic SCI (N=490) residing within a 100-km radius of the institute who were managed and regularly followed up by the rehabilitation center between the years 1981 and 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survival rates and mortality risk factors. Measures were estimated using the product limit (Kaplan-Meier) method and the Cox model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The survival rate after SCI was 86% after 5 years, 71% after 15 years, and 58% after 25 years. Survival of persons with complete high cervical injury is substantially low compared with other levels of SCI. Level of injury and extent of lesion (Frankel classification and/or American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale) play a significant role in predicting survival of this population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Survival rates of regularly followed-up persons with SCI from this study show promising results, though survival rates are lesser when compared with studies from developed countries. Better understanding of the predictors, causes of deaths, comprehensive rehabilitation, community integration, and regular follow-up could possibly assist in improving survival rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India. Electronic address: apurvaa23@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Apurba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Devika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shanmugasundaram
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Rohit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bhide
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Anand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Viswanathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Henry Prakash
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Magimairaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Guru
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nagarajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Elango
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arumugam
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tharion
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: Raji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D015998:Abbreviated Injury Scale; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000401:mortality / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000401:mortality* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injuries; Survival