Spinal cord injuries in Iceland 1973-1989. A follow up study

Abstract

All traumatic SCI patients in Iceland come to the Neurosurgical Department of Borgarspitalinn, the City Hospital in Reykjavik for their initial treatment. From 1973From -1989 were rehabilitated at BorgarspHalinn.The purpose of this study was to look at the most common complications and the social functions of SCI patients after discharge from the Rehabilitation Department.A questionnaire was sent to 59 of the 79 patients. They represent almost the whole population of the spinal cord injured population in Iceland. Forty-five patients (76.3%) answered the questionnaire, 69% male, 31% female. Sixty seven percent were under the age of 30 years at the time of injury. Twenty-nine percent had a complete spinal cord injury; 53.3% were wheelchairbound (Frankel grade A, B, C); 55.6% were quadriplegic, and 44.4% paraplegic.The commonest complications were pain (64.4%), urinary tract infections (62.2%) and spasticity (60%); and 58% of the wheelchairbound patients had had pressure sores. Fifty-five point five percent were married; 71 % had an active sexual life after the injury; 54% of the wheelchairbound patients were not quite independent and required some assistance with activities of daily living (ADL) tasks; and 29% were not working or studying compared to 11%, who were, before the injury. No significant changes were seen in social function after the injury.The results show that more emphasis must be placed on the prevention of complications such as urinary tract infections and pressure sores and on the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity.

The global map for traumatic spinal cord injury epidemiology: update 2011, global incidence rate

“…These Green and Yellow Zone countries provided some national incidence data. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] There were larger numbers of regional-specific incidence data, however globally there were large regions without any published incidence data. To rectify this, regression modelling was developed and used to provide spinal cord injury (SCI) estimates of TSCI incidence using known countries' TSCI incidence rates, populations at risk and a range of measured economic indicators.…”

Rehabilitation of spinal cord injury in France: a nationwide multicentre study of incidence and regional disparities

“…1,[4][5][6]8,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] These studies reveal a wide range of incidences, from 10.4 to 56, which can be explained partly by the different methodologies used (retrospective or prospective, mono-or multicentre surveys). The use of medical coding upon admission to register patients allows for a high level of comprehensiveness but sometimes these codes lack reliability and do not always enable to differentiate new cases from old ones.…”

“…Estimations of SCI incidence vary widely, from 8 to 58 SCI persons per million inhabitants per annum (Table 1). Three types of parameters can account for such wide differences: 12 1978-1981 Taiwan 14.6 R, postinjury acute care Gehrig and Michaelis (1986) 13 1960-1967 Switzerland 13.4 R, postinjury acute care, multicentre Biering-Sorensen et al (1990) 24 1975-1984 Denmark 9.2 R, PMR, multicentre Garcia et al (1991) 25 1984-1985 Spain 8 R, PMR, multicentre Acton et al (1993) 14 1980-1989 USA (Arkansas) 28.5 R, postinjury acute care, multicentre Price et al (1994) 15 1988-1990 USA (Oklahoma) 40 R, postinjury acute care and PMR, multicentre Thurman et al (1994) 16 1989-1991 USA (Utah) 43 R, postinjury acute care and PMR, multicentre Knutsdottir (1993) 17 1973-1982 Iceland 24 P, postinjury acute care and PMR [1983][1984][1985][1986][1987][1988][1989] 18 P, postinjury acute care and PMR Lan et al (1993) 18 1986-1990 Taiwan (rural areas) 56 R, postinjury acute care, multicentre Shingu et al (1994) 4 1990 Japan 39.4 R, postinjury acute care and PMR, multicentre 50. 5 Inclusion of forms of ASIA E Soopramanien (1994) 5 1992-1993 Romania 18.5 R, postinjury acute care, 1 unit 28.…”

Incidence of traumatic spinal cord injuries in Finland over a 30-year period

“…Falls as a cause of SCI are more common in Finland than in other Nordic countries. [11][12][13][14] Typically, in Finland and in other Nordic countries, violence is an uncommon cause of SCI as compared with USA. 6 This study has some limitations.…”