Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2025
Training Persons with Spinal Cord Injury to Ambulate Using a Powered Exoskeleton
Published on: June 16, 2016
The Changing Prevalence of Pressure Injury among Ontarians with SCI/D at Rehabilitation Admission: Opportunities for
Beverley Catharine Craven1,2, Emma A Bateman3,4, Heather Flett1
1Lyndhurst Centre, The KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON M4G 3V9, Canada.
Background:
Despite preventability, 20-50% of patients with acute spinal cord injury/disease (SCI/D) develop hospital-acquired pressure injuries (PIs). The Spinal Cord Injury Implementation and Evaluation Quality Care Consortium (SCI IEQCC) aimed to mitigate PI risk through patient-reported daily skin checks alongside usual care.
Methods:
This quality improvement initiative utilized an interrupted time series design, encompassing adults ≥ 18 years admitted for inpatient rehabilitation across five Ontario sites from 2020 to 2023. Patient demographics, etiology, and impairment data were obtained from a national registry, while participating sites gathered data on PI onset, location, and severity. Run charts depicted temporal trends, and statistical analyses, including chi-square and logistic regression, compared patients with and without PIs.
Results:
Data from 1767 discharged SCI/D patients revealed that 26% had ≥1 PI, with 59% being prevalent and 41% incident. Most severe PIs (stages III and IV and unstageable) were acquired prior to admission. Process indicator fidelity was reasonable at 68%. Patients with PIs experienced longer hospital stays, lower Functional Independence Measure (FIM) changes, and FIM efficiency during rehabilitation.
Conclusions:
PI prevalence is increasing, particularly sacral injuries at admission, while incident cases have decreased since 2021 due to regular skin checks. This trend calls for proactive health system interventions to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes.
