The prevalence and impact of age and gender on rehabilitation outcomes in spinal cord injury in India: a retrospective pilot study

Study design: Retrospective, 1 year case series. Objectives: To analyze the relationship between gender, age, injury-related variables and rehabilitation outcomes in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: Tertiary Rehabilitation Center, Inpatient rehabilitation unit, India. Methods: The data from a series of SCI cases were analyzed. Each case was followed from admission into the hospital until their discharge. Patients were described according to age, gender, etiology of SCI, neurological classification, medical complications, American spinal injury association (ASIA) classification, length of rehabilitation stay and spinal cord independence measure (SCIM). Results: Forty-seven new SCI cases, 37 (78.7%) male and 10 (21.3%) female patients, were reported over a 1-year period during 2009-2010. Male patients were younger than the female ones, but the difference was not statistically significant. There was no statistically significant relationship between age or gender, and the following SCI variables: ASIA classification, neurological classification, SCI complications and length of stay (P>0.05). Traumatic etiology and Pott's disease was found be related with gender (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between age or gender and SCIM score at admission or discharge (P>0.05). Conclusion: Age and gender are not significantly related to outcomes of rehabilitation or characteristics of SCI in this sample. Further research is needed to confirm the generalizability of these findings and to identify which factors contribute more strongly to SCI rehabilitation outcomes.