Article

Mortality, cause of death and risk indicators for death among patients
with traumatic spinal cord injury were investigated over a 30-year period.
A cross-sectional study with retrospective data. SUBJECTS: All patients
(n = 1647) aged 16 years and over who had sustained traumatic spinal cord injury
during the period 1976-2005, who were admitted to Kapyla Rehabilitation Centre,
Helsinki, Finland, participated in the study. Demographic and clinical
data were collected from the registers of Kapyla Rehabilitation Centre.
Cause-specific mortality was assessed using Statistics Finland's official
cause-of-death register. RESULTS: During the observation period (1976-2007) 419
patients died. The main causes of death were respiratory disease (28%),
cardiovascular disease (21%), suicide (10%) and external causes (9.5%). The mean
age at death was 55.5 years for men and 58.2 years for women. Ten-year survival
was 97.9%. Mortality was significantly affected by age at onset of injury,
neurological level and extent of lesion. Survival of traumatic spinal cord injury
patients was approximately 50% that of the general population, and survival of
the general population was 80% during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: These
results support the need for improvements in long-term rehabilitative care and
regular follow-up of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury. The importance
of psychosocial follow-up services must be emphasized.

Langue : ANGLAIS