Impact of energy intake on the activities of daily living in patients with cervical spinal cord injury undergoing post-acute rehabilitation

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association between sufficient energy intake and improvement in activities of daily living (ADL) after hospitalization in patients with cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) undergoing post-acute rehabilitation. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Post-acute care hospital from September 2013 to December 2020. Participants Patients with CSCI admitted to a post-acute care hospital for rehabilitation. Intervention Not applicable. Outcome measure(s) Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationship of sufficient energy intake to Motor Functional Independence Measure (mFIM) gain, mFIM score at discharge, and body weight change during hospitalization. Results In total, 116 patients (104 men and 12 women), median age: 55 (interquartile range [IQR] 41−65) years were included in the analysis. Then, 68 (58.6%) were in the energy-sufficient group, and 48 (41.4%) patients were classified under the energy-deficient group. The two groups did not significantly differ in terms of mFIM gain and mFIM score at discharge. The energy-sufficient group maintained body weight change during hospitalization than the energy-deficient group (0.6 [−2.0−2.0] vs. −1.9 [−4.0−−0.3], P < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed no association between sufficient energy intake and outcomes. Conclusion Sufficient energy intake within the first 3 days of admission did not affect ADL improvement during hospitalization in patients with a post-cute CSCI undergoing rehabilitation.