Hyperemia Response of Tissue Oxygenation as Assessed by the Near Infrared Spectroscopy in Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

The objective of this study is to assess the hyperemia response of tissue oxygenation on the sacrum area (high-risk area for pressure ulcer). A total of twenty subjects were recruited from a local hosipital to participate in this study, of which ten were persons with SCI (3 women, 7 men, age=34.5 +/- 5.2 y) and the other ten were healthy subjects (3 women, 7 men, age=36.5 +/- 6.2 y). The results showed that the the post-occlusive reactive hyperemia response of [HbO(2)] were significantly lower in the tissue over the sacrum area for persons with SCI when compared to normal subjects. The results suggest that the ability of the tissue to provide the large reactive response in the tissue over the sacrum area was significantly impaired in persons with SCI.