Respiratory complications during initial rehabilitation and survival following spinal cord injury in Sweden: a retrospective study

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: To determine prevalence of respiratory complications in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) during the initial rehabilitation at the spinal cord injury unit (SCU) and to describe the subsequent effect on mortality. SETTING: The SCU at the university hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden. METHODS: We reviewed the medical charts of newly injured persons with SCI who were admitted to the SCU between 1/1/2010 and 12/31/2014. Outcome measures were time to death, length of stay, occurrence of respiratory complications, and the use of breathing aids. RESULTS: A total of 136 consecutive individuals were included; 53% with cervical SCI and 20% with lower SCI suffered from one or several respiratory complications during their initial rehabilitation in the SCU. At follow-up, 10/1/2018, 20% of the individuals were deceased. The most common cause of death was related to respiratory insufficiency. The individuals with respiratory complications during the initial rehabilitation in the SCU had particularly shortened survival compared with those without. The relative risk (RR) of dying if the person suffered from any respiratory complications during their initial rehabilitation in the SCU was 2.1 times higher than for those with no respiratory complications (RR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1–3.9). CONCLUSIONS: Having respiratory complications at the SCU provides preliminary data to support the claim that respiratory complications predict premature mortality. Early diagnosis and prophylactic measures seem to be necessary to mitigate the adverse consequences of serious respiratory problems.