Life expectancy and long-term survival after traumatic spinal cord injury: a systematic review.
Alessandro Zadra, Stefania Bruni, Antonio DE Tanti and 4 others
PMID 38842067WHAT IT FOUND
People with traumatic spinal cord injury live significantly shorter lives than the general population.
Survival depends heavily on injury level and severity, with tetraplegia and high-level lesions carrying the greatest mortality risk.
Key findings
01Individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury have a reduced life expectancy compared to the general population, with survival decreasing as injury severity and age increase.
02Mortality risk is higher for those with tetraplegia compared to paraplegia, and for complete versus incomplete lesions.
03Standardized mortality ratios indicate that people with spinal cord injury are between 1.47 and 2.8 times more likely to die than the general population.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The included studies were all observational, limiting the ability to draw causal conclusions. Most data came from high-income countries, reducing generalizability to other settings. There was significant heterogeneity in study design, inclusion criteria, and follow-up times, making direct comparison difficult. Some studies excluded deaths in the first year or ventilator-dependent patients, which may underestimate true mortality rates.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not apply these survival statistics directly to individual patients without considering their specific injury level, age, and comorbidities, as the data represent population averages from varied study designs and may not reflect modern, specialized care outcomes in all settings.