Prediction of functional recovery six months following traumatic spinal cord injury during acute care hospitalization

This study aimed to identify factors during acute care hospitalization that predict functional recovery six months after a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). It's important to predict function after SCI to improve patient care, plan rehabilitation, and optimize resource use. The study looked at 159 patients and analyzed various factors like injury severity, medical complications, and length of hospital stay to see how they relate to functional outcomes measured by the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM). The SCIM assesses self-care, respiration/sphincter management, and mobility/transfers. The study found that motor-complete SCI was a major predictor of decreased functional scores. In tetraplegia, longer hospital stays and medical complications were negative predictors. In paraplegia, higher BMI and trauma severity predicted poorer outcomes.

• 1
  Motor-complete SCI (AIS-A,B) was the main predictive factor associated with decreased total SCIM score in both tetraplegia and paraplegia.
• 2
  Longer acute care length of stay and the occurrence of acute medical complications were predictors of decreased functional outcome following tetraplegia.
• 3
  Increased body mass index and higher trauma severity were predictive of decreased functional outcome following paraplegia.