Assessment of Quality of Life in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury within the Period of First 6 Months after Injury

Abstract

Introduction: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurological state resulting in long-term physical dependency, increased morbidity, emotional, and financial burden. This study sought to assess the quality of life in patients with spinal cord injury within the first six months after injury. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life in patients with spinal cord injury within the first six months after injury. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Department of Neurosurgery in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) over a period between October 2021 to September 2022. 21 patients with SCI within 6 months of injury were recruited. Interviews with a semi-structured questionnaire assessed demographics, SCI details, and QoL (WHOQOL-BREF). Neurological injury classification followed ASIA standards. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 24. Result: The majority of the studied patients (23.8%) were within the 41-50 and 51-60-year age groups. More than two-thirds of the studied patients (71.4%) were male. with falls (42.9%) and spinal tumors (19.0%) as leading causes. Among all, 33.3% of the patients had complete motor involvement. According to the score of the physical domain, 66.7% of patients had low QoL. Age was positively significantly correlated with the environmental QoL score (r: 0.532, p value: 0.013) Conclusion: SCI significantly impairs all aspects of quality of life, with complete SCI patients facing notably worse physical conditions. A collaborative approach involving health entities, families, and communities is essential to improve quality of life and self-care abilities for SCI survivors.