Traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury: Demographic characteristics, neurological and functional outcomes. A 7-year single centre experience

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate demographic and clinical characteristics of a population affected by traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and to analyze functional outcomes after rehabilitation. Methods: This study involved 112 SCI patients (75 male and 37 female) admitted at the Neurorehabilitation Unit of the University Hospital of Messina. The neurological outcomes were evaluated according to the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) and by using length of stay, Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and Barthel Index (BI). Results: NT-SCI patients were significantly older, numerous (75,89%) and affected by greater lesions when admitted, than T-SCI ones. Most of lesions were incomplete (93%) and associated with paraplegia (71%). FIM and BI outcomes are similar in both groups, even if T-SCI patients showed greater improvement when discharged. No significant differences were found in the length of stay. The most common complication in non-traumatic SCI group was urinary tract infection and this was observed in 25 patients (29,41%). Linear regression models explained 26% of the variance of LOS and 38% of the variance of functional outcome. Functional status on admission was the strongest determinant of LOS and completeness of the lesion was the strongest determinant of functional outcome. Etiology (traumatic versus non-traumatic) was a weak independent determinant of LOS but was not an independent determinant of functional outcome. Conclusion: SCI patient's rehabilitation should be carried out by taking into account etiology of the injury. It is important to consider this information while developing the targets and planning of the rehabilitation program. In particular, older age negatively influence the degree of disability on admission and the entity of functional recovery in both populations. Non-traumatic lesions could have minor benefits after rehabilitation therapy if compared with traumatic ones.