title: Spinal cord injury in older population in Turkey.
abstract: METHODS
  Retrospective, comparative 4-year study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the clinical characteristics unique to older patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 870 consecutive patients with SCI that were divided into two groups according to age. Patients aged ⩾60 years at the time of injury constituted the study group, and randomly selected patients aged <60 years that were matched for gender, week of admission and time since injury constituted the control group. Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded, compared and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study group included 73 SCI patients (mean age: 66.98±6.28 years) and the control group included 75 SCI patients (mean age: 33.93±10.67 years). Among the 148 patients, 98 (66.2%) were male. The vast majority of lesions were at the thoracic level (47.3%). In the older group, falls were the most frequent etiology (32.9%), simple falls predominated (62.5%). 49.3% of the study group vs 18.6% of the control group had a non-traumatic cause of SCI. Older patients were found to be less likely to have complete injury (27.4 vs 44%, P=0.035). The most common bladder management method was intermittent catheterization (69.6%) and the number of patients in each group treated with this method did not differ significantly (P>0.05). More patients in the study group had neuropathic pain (50.7 vs 34.7%, P=0.049) and abnormal urinary ultrasound findings (23.3 vs 9.3%, P=0.021).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RESULTS revealed that older patients with SCI may have different demographic and clinical features compared with younger patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ü
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Güzelküçük
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kesikburun
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yaşar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult