Spinal cord injury rehabilitation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: time to rehabilitation admission, length of stay and functional independence

Abstract

Shorter time from injury to rehabilitation admission may improve outcomes for those with traumatic SCI. As time spent in rehabilitation was shorter than in most other countries, a change in practice in this area may be warranted. Developing strategies to improve outcomes for older patients with nontraumatic SCI would also be beneficial.

Functional outcomes in geriatric patients with spinal cord injuries at a tertiary care rehabilitation hospital in Saudi Arabia

“…In this study, the mean (SD) age of individuals with SCI was 72.3 (6.3) years; the majority of them were male and were retired from work. Women are potentially at lower risk than men for SCI, as evidenced by the previous literature on SCI in the Kingdom [17][18][19][20]. These findings may be explained by the fact that women work in activities which are less commonly associated with a risk of injury.…”

“…Various epidemiological studies, functional outcome related research, and narrative reviews published in the last decade, have focused on traumatic SCI in Saudi Arabia [17][18][19]. A recent study conducted in Saudi Arabia by Mahmoud et al, 2017 described functional status, length of stay, and rehabilitation trends in adults with SCI (mean age: 35 ± 17 years) [20]. However, none of the recently conducted studies focused on the same in geriatric population.…”

Psychological outcomes of MRSA isolation in spinal cord injury rehabilitation

“…Average length of stay for SCI patients is diverse within the literature [ 80 ] spanning from 47 days in Russia [ 81 ] to 240 days in the Netherlands [ 82 ], with non-traumatic injury in the UK averaging 143 days [ 83 ]. Length of stay can implicitly impact rehabilitation outcomes [ 33 , 84 ] and lead to reduced functional independence [ 85 ]. However, the evidence from the current study would argue that length of stay was not substantially longer than that of non-isolated matched controls and no detrimental impact on psychological health aspects was incurred by those who were isolated.…”

Rehabilitation of a patient with spinal cord decompression sickness: First case report from Saudi Arabia

“…Generally, patients may not return to diving after SCDCS; however, using paired diving and modified Bühlmann diving algorithm, individuals with chronic SCI may engage safely in recreational scuba diving if they have good cardiovascular fitness . Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle accidents and trauma is the most common cause of SCI . Options for inpatient rehabilitation are fairly limited in the country and the waiting lists for admission remains one of the challenges to start early comprehensive rehabilitation .…”

“…Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle accidents and trauma is the most common cause of SCI . Options for inpatient rehabilitation are fairly limited in the country and the waiting lists for admission remains one of the challenges to start early comprehensive rehabilitation . Delayed rehabilitation care may adversely affect functional recovery in patients with SCI .…”