Changes in functional independence after inpatient rehabilitation in patients with spinal cord injury: A simultaneous evaluation of prognostic factors

This study examines how much people with spinal cord injuries improve in their ability to do things on their own after being in a rehabilitation hospital. It looks at different levels and severities of spinal cord injuries to see if some groups improve more than others. The study also tries to figure out what factors might predict how much a person will improve. The researchers used two different scoring systems (SCIM III and FIM) to measure independence before and after rehabilitation. They found that most people improved, but the amount of improvement depended on the level and severity of their injury, as well as other factors like length of stay in the hospital and whether they had pressure ulcers.

• 1
  Independence significantly improved for all severities and levels of injury, except for AIS A and B patients at upper cervical levels.
• 2
  The level of injury, AIS grade, length of stay (LOS), and presence of pressure ulcers significantly influenced patient outcomes.
• 3
  Functional improvement differed significantly between injury levels with the same AIS grade, and between AIS groups with the same injury level at upper and middle cervical lesions.