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Research Objectives
To study the inpatient rehabilitation outcomes and complication in patient with ankylosing
spondylitis (AS) with spinal cord injury.
Design
A case series.
Setting
Inpatient rehabilitation facility.
Participants
3 patients with an established diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis who suffered from
traumatic spinal cord injury were identified within a 2-year period.
Interventions
None.
Main Outcome Measures
Data on demographics, significant co-morbidities, mechanism of injury (low energy
vs high energy), involved vertebrae fracture level, ASIA impairment score (AIS), complications
during inpatient rehabilitation (pressure sore, chest complications, pulmonary embolism,
deep vein thrombosis, infections) and neurological improvement after inpatient rehabilitation
(functional Independence Measure (FIM), upper extremity motor scores (UEMS), lower
extremity motor scores (LEMS) were collected.
Results
Our patients suffered traumatic spinal cord injury from a fall from level ground (low
energy impact) and involved uniformly fractured the cervical vertebrae. All 3 patients
had joint pains that needed analgesia and was dependent on an indwelling catheter
for continence during inpatient rehabilitation.
In particular, 2 patients needed a prolonged inpatient rehabilitation stay of 247
and 273 days. They suffered from multiple episodes of urine tract infections and immobility
related decubitus ulcers. Both had a low FIM efficiency and remained wheelchair bound.
Conclusions
Our retrospective case series corroborated with the known literature that patients
with diagnosed ankylosing spondylitis suffered spinal cord injury from low-energy
trauma. Patients with ankylosing spondylitis should be advised on adequate fall precautions
and avoidance of high risk activities. It provided better understanding of this particular
subgroup of patients and their rehabilitation outcomes. (all 3 had severe injury/
complications/ prolonged stay) Additional studies with a larger sample size is needed
for better generalisation of results.
Author(s) Disclosures
All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Keywords
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Copyright
© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.
