Characterizing Neurological Status and Outcomes During Inpatient Rehabilitation in Persons With Nontraumatic Spinal...

The National SCI Model Systems (SCIMS) Database was established in 1973 to study longitudinal data from persons with traumatic SCI (TSCI). The SCIMS provides an ideal platform to explore the feasibility of a parallel data collection effort to understand the characteristics of individuals with nontraumatic SCI (NTSCI). In the current data collection cycle (2021-2026), all SCIMS centers gathered data specific to NTSCI.

To (1) describe the demographic and injury-specific characteristics of participants with NTSCI and (2) assess neurological changes from admission to discharge.

The International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) examination data of participants with NTSCI who were enrolled at an SCIMS center were extracted from the medical records at admission and discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Data from 178 participants with NTSCI were analyzed.

Among the 93 participants who had adequate ISNCSCI data on admission, only 8.6% had neurological complete injuries. More participants had paraplegia (n = 58, 62.4%) than tetraplegia (n = 35, 37.6%). For participants with full ISNCSCI data at both admission and discharge (n = 47), there were significant improvements in the lower extremity motor score and pinprick and light touch scores on discharge.

On admission to acute rehabilitation, more people with NTSCI had paraplegia than tetraplegia, and neurological incomplete injuries were more common. People with NTSCI experienced significant improvement in ISNCSCI neurological variables by the time of discharge from rehabilitation.