Bulletin 16 - Persisting cases of SCI
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Persisting cases of SCI
Of the newly incident cases of SCI in Australia in 1995/96, twelve cases were
reported to have been discharged from a SU with no deficit, mostly admitted for
suspected SCI or transient cord concussion, and ten were reported to have died
on ward during treatment, mainly elderly patients (mean age of 66 years). Two
hundred and forty cases were discharged from a SU with a neurological deficit.
Given the rarity of neurological recovery from SCI at this time, these cases
can be regarded as `persisting cases'. The persisting cases are an important
group to monitor because they are the people whose health care, welfare and
other needs require ongoing management and financial support. The size of the
group reflects the cumulative effects of the rate of incidence of SCI, the
patient response to retrieval and treatment, and the rate of survival to
discharge. The annual number of new persisting cases of SCI reported by the SUs
should be a good measure of this condition. SU directors report that nearly all
persisting cases would be referred to a SU, either immediately or after
stabilisation at another hospital. An exception is the few cases of SCI in
childhood treated at paediatric hospitals. Based on the case number reported by
the SUs, the age-adjusted incidence rate of persisting cases of SCI was 13.4
per million of population in 1995/96.
In the remainder of the discussion of traumatic SCI, attention focuses on the
characteristic of the persisting cases.
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