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Previous Volume 330:550-556 February 24, 1994 Number 8 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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In 1927 Harvey Cushing described the outcome for soldiers with spinal cord injuries sustained during World War I: "Fully 80 percent died in the first few weeks in consequence of infection from bedsores and catheterization. . . . Only those cases survived in which the spinal cord lesion was a partial one"¹. Today, this picture has been completely reversed, and in well-organized systems of care for trauma and spinal cord injuries 94 percent of patients survive the initial hospitalization^2,3. National data on people with spinal cord injuries suggest a population of over 200,000, which will increase each year . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Medical Problems

Altered Symptoms and Signs

Neurologic Improvement and Decline

Urinary Tract Infection

Pressure Ulceration

Spasticity

Functional Aspects

Impairment and Disability

The Rehabilitation Team

Lifetime Follow-up

Psychosocial Aspects and Long-Term Adjustment

Depression

Domestic and Employment Status

Life Satisfaction

Sexual Function and Parenthood

Aging

Summary

Source Information

From the Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of Delaware Valley and the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Jefferson Medical College and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (J.F.D.), and the Magee Rehabilitation Hospital (C.S.F.) -- all in Philadelphia.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Ditunno at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 111 S. 11th St., Philadelphia, PA 19107.

References

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Duffill, J, Buckley, J, Lang, D, Neil-Dwyer, G, McGinn, F, Wade, D (2001). Prospective study of omental transposition in patients with chronic spinal injury. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 71: 73-80 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ledermann, H. P., Schweitzer, M. E., Morrison, W. B. (2002). Pelvic Heterotopic Ossification: MR Imaging Characteristics. Radiology 222: 189-195 [Abstract] [Full Text]