Assessment of complications at admission of spinal cord injury patients

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the complications of patient with spinal cord injury during admission. Objectives: To find out the cardio-respiratory, musculoskeletal, and genitourinary complications of patient with spinal cord injury on admission. To identify the socio-demographic characteristics of spinal cord injured patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was selected for conducting the study. A total of 60 samples were conveniently chosen from the SCI unit of CRP, Savar, Dhaka. The data was collected by using a questionnaire, and SPSS version 20 was used for descriptive data analysis. Result: Among the 60 participants, 76.67% were male. The maximum respondents were aged between 31-40years, 46.67% of the respondents had completed the primary level. Most of the participants (66.67%) lived in rural areas, and 91.60% of SCI was caused by trauma. The common complications during admission were pain (84%), pressure sores (70%), abnormal muscle tone (70%), postural hypotension (40%), and bowel and bladder incontinence (46%). Associated complications were shortness of breath 10%, autonomic dysreflexia 8%, muscle atrophy 35%, constipation 33%, leg swelling 25%. The study showed an association between complications such as pain, shortness of breath, postural hypotension, autonomic dysreflexia, and socio-demographic information such as age group, gender, and types of paralysis with a 5% (p<0.05) level of significance. Conclusion: Complications after spinal cord injury are the primary cause of mortality and morbidity. The study finds out the complications of SCI during the admission time. Awareness, early admission, and intervention can prevent the complications after SCI. This research will aid in the early detection and prevention of complications following SCI. Keywords: Spinal Cord Injury, Complications. Word count: 9978