OBJECTIVE: To examine quality-of-life (QOL) factors and change in mobility in individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) 1 year after injury. DESIGN: Retrospective case study of National SCI Database data. SETTING: SCI Model Systems (SCIMS) sites (N=18). PARTICIPANTS: Subjects (N=1826; age >18y) who presented to an SCIMS site after traumatic SCI between June 2004 and July 2009 and returned for 1-year follow-up. All subjects had FIM mobility data for both assessments. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Assessment of impairment based on Lower-Extremity Motor Score. Assessment of QOL based on Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique, Patient Health Questionnaire, Satisfaction With Life Scale, Self-perceived Health Status, and pain severity scores. RESULTS: Of the sample, 55 individuals transitioned from walking to wheelchair use within 1 year of discharge. This group had the highest number of individuals from minority groups (52.8%) and the lowest employment rate (7.3%). Compared with individuals who transitioned from wheelchair use to walking or maintained wheelchair use or ambulation, the walking-to-wheelchair transition group had significantly lower QOL scores (P<.01), including higher depression (P<.01) and higher pain severity (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with SCI who transitioned from walking at discharge to wheelchair use within 1 year had low QOL factors, including high pain and depression scores. Rehabilitation professionals should consider encouraging marginal ambulators to work toward functional independence from a wheelchair, rather than primary ambulation during acute inpatient rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE: To examine quality-of-life (QOL) factors and change in mobility in individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) 1 year after injury. DESIGN: Retrospective case study of National SCI Database data. SETTING: SCI Model Systems (SCIMS) sites (N=18). PARTICIPANTS: Subjects (N=1826; age >18y) who presented to an SCIMS site after traumatic SCI between June 2004 and July 2009 and returned for 1-year follow-up. All subjects had FIM mobility data for both assessments. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Assessment of impairment based on Lower-Extremity Motor Score. Assessment of QOL based on Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique, Patient Health Questionnaire, Satisfaction With Life Scale, Self-perceived Health Status, and pain severity scores. RESULTS: Of the sample, 55 individuals transitioned from walking to wheelchair use within 1 year of discharge. This group had the highest number of individuals from minority groups (52.8%) and the lowest employment rate (7.3%). Compared with individuals who transitioned from wheelchair use to walking or maintained wheelchair use or ambulation, the walking-to-wheelchair transition group had significantly lower QOL scores (P<.01), including higher depression (P<.01) and higher pain severity (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with SCI who transitioned from walking at discharge to wheelchair use within 1 year had low QOL factors, including high pain and depression scores. Rehabilitation professionals should consider encouraging marginal ambulators to work toward functional independence from a wheelchair, rather than primary ambulation during acute inpatient rehabilitation.
Authors: Alexander K Ommaya; Kenneth M Adams; Richard M Allman; Eileen G Collins; Rory A Cooper; C Edward Dixon; Paul S Fishman; James A Henry; Randy Kardon; Robert D Kerns; Joel Kupersmith; Albert Lo; Richard Macko; Rachel McArdle; Regina E McGlinchey; Malcolm R McNeil; Thomas P O'Toole; P Hunter Peckham; Mark H Tuszynski; Stephen G Waxman; George F Wittenberg Journal: J Rehabil Res Dev Date: 2013
Authors: Charles H Bombardier; Casey B Azuero; Jesse R Fann; Donald D Kautz; J Scott Richards; Sunil Sabharwal Journal: Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil Date: 2021
Authors: Lee L Saunders; James S Krause; Nicole D DiPiro; Sara Kraft; Sandra Brotherton Journal: J Spinal Cord Med Date: 2013-04-13 Impact factor: 1.985
Authors: Laura Teeter; Julie Gassaway; Sally Taylor; Jacqueline LaBarbera; Shari McDowell; Deborah Backus; Jeanne M Zanca; Audrey Natale; Jordan Cabrera; Randall J Smout; Scott E D Kreider; Gale Whiteneck Journal: J Spinal Cord Med Date: 2012-11 Impact factor: 1.985