A medico-social survey of Romanians with spinal cord injury

The problems faced by Romanian patients with spinal cord injuries when discharged home were investigated by a medico-social postal questionnaire. All 170 who were surveyed had been treated in the rehabilitation section of the Neurosurgical Clinic of Bucharest from 1.1.92 to 1.1.93 before being discharged home. Those who were still inpatients at the time of the survey were excluded. The response rate was high (133 patients (78%)). Fifty-four per cent were paraplegic and 44% were tetraplegic; 80% were men. They were facing serious financial difficulties through loss of their jobs and the absence of formal and efficient sources of social help. Urinary catheters, condom drainage and drugs were not easily available or were too expensive for many of the patients, and medical facilities were scarce in the remote villages. Sixty-six per cent (71% of whom were tetraplegic) spent most of their time in bed and very few had the resources to adapt their houses. It makes little sense to improve conditions in hospital if conditions at home are not also improved. This paper highlights some of the problems faced by such patients.