Correlates of psychiatric morbidity in acute spinal cord injury

Abstract

Introduction: Approximately 10,000 Australians have a significant neurological deficit as the result of a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). High rates of psychiatric co-morbidity have consistently been found in this population, along with a suicide rate of 2–3 times greater than the general population. The spinal unit at Royal North Shore Hospital is one of the largest in Australasia. All patients with a new spinal cord injury are seen by the consultation-liaison psychiatry service.Objectives: To determine the rate of types of psychiatric disorder recorded in an acute spinal-injured population and to examine whether psychiatric morbidity is correlated with a range of underlying variables.Method: A comprehensive, critical literature review of psychiatric morbidity in spinal cord injury was undertaken. Eighteen clinical variables of interest (demographic, psyhosocial and injury-related) were identified. The medical records and data sheets of 100 consecutive inpatients with acute SCI were hand-searched for...