Evaluating Knowledge of Autonomic Dysreflexia Among Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury and Their Families

J Spinal Cord Med, 2009 · DOI: · Published: February 1, 2009

Spinal Cord Injury Patient Experience Neurology

Simple Explanation

Autonomic dysreflexia (AD) is a dangerous condition that can happen after a spinal cord injury. It causes sudden, severe high blood pressure and a slow heart rate in response to something irritating below the level of the injury. It's crucial for people with spinal cord injuries and their families to recognize AD so they can get help quickly. This study looked at how well people with spinal cord injuries and their family members understand AD. The study also wanted to know the best way to teach people with spinal cord injuries and their families about AD, like when and how they should be taught.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

100 individuals with chronic SCI and 16 family members

Evidence Level

Cross-sectional descriptive study

Key Findings

1
Many people with spinal cord injuries and their family members don't know enough about AD. Specifically, 41% of the SCI sample had not even heard of it.
2
Almost a quarter of the individuals with SCI in the study experienced symptoms that suggested they might have had AD without realizing it.
3
People who had spinal cord injuries because of an injury (like a car accident) knew more about how to treat AD than those who had spinal cord injuries for other reasons. Participants felt that education about AD is best delivered during rehabilitation.

Research Summary

This study evaluated the knowledge of autonomic dysreflexia (AD) among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their family members. The study found that there are gaps in the knowledge of AD among this population. A significant portion of individuals with SCI had never heard of AD, and some may have experienced unrecognized episodes of AD. The study also found that traumatic SCI etiology was associated with greater knowledge about treating AD. The respondents indicated that AD education would be best delivered during rehabilitation by a healthcare professional. Further work is needed to promote knowledge about recognizing and managing AD to reduce the risk of cardiac and cerebrovascular disease in the SCI population.

Practical Implications

Improve Education Strategies

Develop targeted education programs to improve AD knowledge among individuals with SCI and their families, especially those with paraplegia or non-traumatic SCI etiologies.

Promote Blood Pressure Monitoring

Encourage regular blood pressure monitoring among individuals with SCI to facilitate early detection and management of AD episodes.

Enhance Rehabilitation Programs

Integrate comprehensive AD education into SCI rehabilitation programs, focusing on symptom recognition, trigger management, and treatment strategies.

Study Limitations

1
Mail survey design with potential for nonresponse bias.
2
Questionnaires used to collect information on AD knowledge are not standardized tools.
3
Identification of unrecognized AD episodes is speculative based on self-report responses.

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