Survival following spinal cord infarction.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective open cohort. OBJECTIVES: To calculate the survival of patients with spinal cord infarction and to compare the cause of death in patients with different mechanisms of ischaemic injury. SETTING: Spinal Rehabilitation Unit, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. METHODS: Consecutive admissions between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2008 with recent onset of spinal cord infarction. Linkage to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Victoria) was used to determine survival following discharge from in-patient rehabilitation and cause of death. RESULTS: A total of 44 patients were admitted (males=26, 59%), with a median age of 72 years (interquartile range (IQR) 62-79). One patient died during their in-patient rehabilitation programme. In all, 14 patients (n=14/44; 33%) died during the follow-up period. The median survival after diagnosis was 56 months (IQR 28-85) and after discharge from in-patient rehabilitation was 46 months (IQR 25-74). The 1- and 5-year mortality rates were 7.0% (n=3/43; 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.4-18.6%) and 20.9% (n=9/43; 95% CI=11.4-35.2%). There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients with the different aetiologies of spinal cord infarction (other vs idiopathic: χ(2)=0.6, P=0.7; other vs vascular: χ(2)=1.9, P=0.3). There was no relationship between survival and gender (χ(2)=0.2, P=0.6), age (χ(2)=3.0, P=0.08), level of injury (χ(2)=0.0, P=1) or American Spinal Cord Society Impairment Scale grade of spinal cord injury (χ(2)=0.02, P=0.9). CONCLUSION: Patients with spinal cord infarction appear to have a fair survival after discharge from in-patient rehabilitation, not withstanding the occurrence of risk factors of vascular disease in many patients.

Retrospective case series of outcomes following spinal cord infarction.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There are very few studies of functional and rehabilitation outcomes in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) owing to infarction. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of consecutive admissions to a tertiary medical unit specializing in SCI rehabilitation, Melbourne, Australia. All admissions between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2008 with a recent onset of SCI owing to ischaemia were included. Outcome measures included the following: demographic characteristics, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS), length of stay (LOS), medical complications, accommodation, support services, continence, mobility and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor scores. Outcome measures recorded at admission, discharge and at 12 months post discharge. RESULTS: Forty-four patients were admitted for rehabilitation (men = 26, 59%), with a median age of 72 years (interquartile range [IQR], 62-79). On admission, 41 (93%) patients had paraplegia. The majority of patients (n = 33, 75%) had an incomplete SCI. Aetiology was vascular in 19 (43%) patients, idiopathic in 11 (25%) and other in 14 (33%). The median LOS in rehabilitation was 85 days (IQR, 24-129). The most common complications were pain (n = 34, 77%), urinary tract infection (n = 25, 57%), spasticity (n = 12, 27%), cardiac failure (n = 11, 25%) and pneumonia (n = 9, 20%). At rehabilitation discharge most patients (n = 35, 80%) had no change in their AIS grade. Despite this, the FIM motor subscale on admission (median = 28; IQR, 21-34) had significantly improved (P < 0.0000) by discharge (median = 66; IQR 42-78). CONCLUSION: Despite their comorbidities and limited change in AIS, these patients had significant improvement in functional abilities during impatient rehabilitation.