Abstract
ObjectiveTo assess the survival in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) receiving structured follow-up in South India. DesignRetrospective study. SettingRehabilitation center. ParticipantsPersons with traumatic SCI (N=490) residing within a 100-km radius of the institute who were managed and regularly followed up by the rehabilitation center between the years 1981 and 2011. InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresSurvival rates and mortality risk factors. Measures were estimated using the product limit (Kaplan-Meier) method and the Cox model. ResultsThe survival rate after SCI was 86% after 5 years, 71% after 15 years, and 58% after 25 years. Survival of persons with complete high cervical injury is substantially low compared with other levels of SCI. Level of injury and extent of lesion (Frankel classification and/or American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale) play a significant role in predicting survival of this population. ConclusionsSurvival rates of regularly followed-up persons with SCI from this study show promising results, though survival rates are lesser when compared with studies from developed countries. Better understanding of the predictors, causes of deaths, comprehensive rehabilitation, community integration, and regular follow-up could possibly assist in improving survival rates.
Published Version
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