- Home discharge,
- Hospital complications,
- Nontraumatic spinal cord injury,
- Outcomes after hospitalization,
- Post-acute care
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, hospital courses, outcomes after hospitalization, and factors associated with outcomes in patients with nontraumatic spinal cord injuries (NTSCI).
DESIGN: Retrospective analysis.
SETTING: A large for-profit United States health care system.
PARTICIPANTS: 2807 inpatients with NTSCI between 2014 and 2020 were identified using International Classification of Disease codes.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Demographic, clinical characteristics, hospital course, and disposition data collected from electronic health record.
RESULTS: The mean age was 57.91 ± 16.41 years with 69.83% being male. Incomplete cervical level injury was the most common injury type, spinal stenosis was the most common diagnostic etiology and central cord syndrome was the most common clinical syndrome. The average length of stay was 9.52 ± 15.8 days, with the subgroup of 1308 (46.6%) patients who were discharged home demonstrating a shorter length of stay (6.42 ± 10.24 days). Falls were the most common hospital-acquired complication (
CONCLUSIONS: NTSCI in this sample were predominantly incomplete cervical central SCIs. Increased CCI, ICU stay, and hospital-acquired pulmonary complications were associated with poorer outcomes after acute care hospitalization among patients with NTSCI.