Rehabilitation length of stay among traumatic paraplegics – A retrospective analysis

Introduction: In patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), a complex interplay of sociodemographic and injury-related factors can impact on outcomes such as rehabilitation length of stay (r-LOS), functional status, and discharge following rehabilitation procedures. Every year 2.55 lakhs of people suffer from SCI globally. Objectives: To describe the r-LOS in patients with traumatic paraplegia and associated correlates. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among traumatic paraplegics admitted in the rehabilitation unit of a government tertiary care hospital of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2017. All medical records of traumatic paraplegics fulfilling the inclusion criteria were used for data extraction and analysis. A data-gathering instrument was developed and was thereafter used to capture the relevant information from the patients' individual medical records. Results: Mean and median duration of r-LOS was 98.4 ± 37.2 and 98.3 (31.3) days, respectively. Significant predictors were age, employment status, location of residence, operation, and complications at/during hospitalization (P < 0.05). More than half (55.6%) of the traumatic paraplegic patients were of neurological category A. Among those who had r-LOS > 98 days, 94.2% had pressure ulcers in the sacral region, followed by 85.7% ischial and majority were grades 3 and 4. Conclusion: The most common cause of injury was falls from height. Pressure ulcer was the most common complication of paraplegics. Age, employment status, and location of residence were the epidemiological factors, while the history of operation and pressure ulcers were the clinical factors affecting the length of hospital stay.