Age at Onset of Spinal Cord Injury is Associated with Increased Inpatient Care Needs, Reduced Independence at Discharge and a Higher Risk of Institutionalization after Primary Inpatient Rehabilitation.
Patricia Keusen, Thierry Vuilliomenet, Manuela Friedli and 1 others
PMID 36306176WHAT IT FOUND
Older age at spinal cord injury onset predicts more daily nursing hours and lower independence at discharge, but does not change length of stay or daily therapy time.
For each additional year of age, the odds of needing institutional care after discharge rise by 1.03-fold.
Key findings
01Age significantly predicted daily nursing hours and independence at discharge, but did not predict length of stay or reach significance for daily therapy hours.
02For each additional year of age, the odds of institutionalization after discharge increased by 1.03-fold.
03Older age at onset correlated strongly with a greater number of co-morbidities, which independently reduced independence and increased nursing needs.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was retrospective, relying on clinical routine data rather than controlled experimental conditions. Data on co-morbidities and secondary complications were limited to a predefined list and recorded as binary variables, ignoring their severity, duration, or recurrence. Therapy time was aggregated across physical, occupational, and sports therapy, preventing analysis of discipline-specific effects. The study was conducted at a single specialized center in Switzerland, which may limit generalizability to other healthcare systems or rehabilitation models. The Spinal Cord Independence Measure III is not used universally, making comparisons with studies using other outcome measures difficult.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that older patients receive less intensive rehabilitation or have shorter stays. The study found that length of stay and daily therapy hours were not significantly predicted by age, meaning the difference in outcomes is driven by nursing needs and co-morbidities rather than reduced therapy time.