Abstract
Study design:
A multicenter prospective cohort study.
Objective:
To compare the demographic data of the included population with other studied spinal cord injury (SCI) populations in the international literature.
Setting:
Eight Dutch rehabilitation centers with a specialized SCI unit.
Methods:
A total of 205 individuals with SCI participated in this study. Information about personal, lesion and rehabilitation characteristics were collected at the beginning of active rehabilitation by means of a questionnaire.
Results:
The research group mainly consisted of men (74%), of individuals with a paraplegia (59%), and had a complete lesion (68%). The SCI was mainly caused by a trauma (75%), principally due to a traffic accident (42%). The length of clinical rehabilitation varied between 2 months and more than a year, which seemed to be dependent on the lesion characteristics and related comorbidity.
Conclusions:
The personal and lesion characteristics of the subjects of the multi-center study were comparable to data of other studies, although fewer older subjects and subjects with an incomplete lesion were included due to the inclusion criteria ‘age’ and ‘wheelchair-dependent’. The length of stay in rehabilitation centers in The Netherlands was longer compared to Denmark but much longer than in eg Australia and the USA.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the eight participating rehabilitation centers and especially the research assistants for collecting all the data: Sacha van Langeveld (De Hoogstraat, Utrecht), Annelieke Niezen/Peter Luthart (Rehabilitation Center Amsterdam), Marijke Schuitemaker (Het Roessingh, Enschede), Karin Postma (Rijndam Revalidatiecentrum, Rotterdam), Jos Bloemen (Hoensbroeck Revalidatiecentrum, Hoensbroek), Hennie Rijken (Sint Maartenskliniek, Nijmegen), Ferry Woldring (Beatrixoord, Haren), and Linda Valent (Heliomare, Wijk aan Zee). This study was supported by the Dutch Health Research and Development Council, ZON-MW Rehabilitation program, Grant no. 1435.0003.
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de Groot, S., Dallmeijer, A., Post, M. et al. Demographics of the Dutch multicenter prospective cohort study ‘Restoration of mobility in spinal cord injury rehabilitation’. Spinal Cord 44, 668–675 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.sc.3101906
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