Acute phase complications following traumatic spinal cord injury in Dutch level 1 trauma centres
Sammanfattning
OBJECTIVE: To assess the number and nature of complications during the acute phase following
traumatic spinal cord injury and to explore the relationship between number of complications and
length of hospital stay.
DESIGN: Multi-centre prospective cohort study.
Patients: A total of 54 patients with traumatic spinal cord injury, referred to 3 level 1 trauma centres in
The Netherlands.
METHODS: The number and nature of complications were registered weekly from September 2009 to
December 2011.
RESULTS: A total of 32 patients (59%) had 1 or more medical complications. The most common
complications were pressure ulcers (17 patients, 31%) and pulmonary complications (15 patients,
28%). Patients with 3 or 4 complications had significantly (p < 0.01) longer hospital stays (58.5 [32.5]
days) compared with those with 1 or 2 complications (33.1 [14.8] days) or no complications (21.5
[15.6] days).
CONCLUSION: Complications, particularly pressure ulcers and pulmonary complications, occurred
frequently during the acute phase following traumatic spinal cord injury. More complications were
associated with longer hospital stays. Despite the existence of protocols, more attention is needed to
prevent pressure ulcers during the acute phase following traumatic spinal cord injury for patients in
The Netherlands.