Neurological and Functional Outcomes Associated with SCI Rehabilitation

Modern spinal cord injury (SCI) care is purported to involve treatment in specialized centers with an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals providing care as early as possible following injury. Care is delivered throughout the rehabilitation process with appropriate discharge to the community characterized by ongoing outpatient care and follow-up. This article is intended to describe the evidence that exists for aspects of this model of SCI care. Specifically, we examined the evidence for specialized versus general care, early versus late hospital admission, and follow-up care. A second objective of the article is to describe relevant findings of the most common outcomes within the rehabilitation context. We have summarized the outcomes of length of stay, neurological status, and functional status over the rehabilitation stay and examined the interrelationships among these outcomes.