Rehabilitation outcomes following traumatic spinal cord injury in a tertiary spinal cord injury centre: a comparison with an international standard

Study design: Retrospective descriptive analysis of data of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in a tertiary SCI centre. Objectives: To identify the characteristics of the rehabilitation outcomes of patients with different levels of traumatic SCI and to compare the results with data reported in the American Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine. Setting: A newly established tertiary SCI centre in Tai Po Hospital, Tai Po, Hong Kong. Methods: A total of 33 patients with traumatic SCI admitted in 2002 were included in the study. They were classified into different ASIA subgroups based on their levels and completeness of injury. The functional status changes measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM)(TM) (on admission, placement and upon discharge, and at 1 and 3 months post discharge) and discharge placement were recorded as rehabilitation outcomes. Results: A total, 24 patients were tetraplegic while nine were paraplegic. Seven and two from tetraplegic and paraplegic groups were readmitted with late complications due to urinary tract infection, spasticity and/or occurrence of pressure sores. The mean age was found to be 48.36 (SD = 15.64) years. In all, 16 (48.48%) sustained the injury from falling from height. The trend of FIM motor scores at discharge across different ASIA subgroups appeared to be comparable to those reported in the American Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine with scores generally lower. Significant functional improvements during the hospital phase were found in the two tetraplegic and paraplegic ASIA D subgroups (t(3) = 3.430, P<0.05; t(2) = 4.083, P = 0.55, respectively). Significant differences were also revealed among subgroups ( F( 7,32) = 6.625, P<0.0005) with lower level tetraplegic groups appearing to stay much longer in the rehabilitation centre. In all, 64.5% of newly diagnosed patients returned to live in the community. Conclusions: This report gives a preliminary overview on the characteristics of rehabilitation outcomes in one of the SCI centres in Hong Kong in relation to the international standard. Longitudinal study with larger population and community integration outcomes might be included in the future to reveal a better picture in the SCI rehabilitation in Hong Kong.