Acute Spinal-Cord Injury

Acute spinal-cord injury is an unexpected, catastrophic event, the consequences of which often persist for the life of the patient and influence in diverse ways not only the patient, but also family members and society at large. The incidence of acute spinal-cord injury in the United States is about 10,000 per year. Less than 10 percent of these patients die of the acute injury, whereas 720 per million of the population are disabled as a result of such injuries; 80 percent are young men in what should be the prime productive years of their lives. The initial costs of hospitalization . . .