Characterization and profile of adults with spinal cord injury treated at a physiotherapy school clinic in the interior of the State of Pernambuco – Brazil

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an invaluable public health problem, with an incidence of 40 to 80 injuries per million people per year, resulting in trauma, disease or birth defect that causes changes in sensitivity and motor function, whose impairments depend on the level reached. The aim of this study was to characterize the cause and level of SCI, as well as to describe the age group and gender of these patients seen at a Physiotherapy School Clinic in the state of Pernambuco in 2020. This is an exploratory, descriptive and quantitative study. Forty-two medical records of patients in the neurology department of the school clinic were analyzed and those with a closed diagnosis of SCI were included. After evaluating the eligibility criteria, 9 patients were included in the research. The collected data were analyzed, interpreted and exposed through graphs and demonstrated by mean or percentage. It is concluded that the study confirms the highest prevalence of complete TYPE LM, thus being the majority of wheelchair patients. Thoracic injury was the most common level and the main etiology was gunshot wound. All medical records evaluated were of male patients, with a mean age of 39 years.