American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation
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Am J Phys Med Rehabil · Mar 1999
Clinical presentations, medical complications, and functional outcomes of individuals with gunshot wound-induced spinal cord injury.
Gunshot wounds are currently the second leading cause of spinal cord injury in the United States, and coexisting injuries or complications accompanying penetrating wounds often increase patient morbidity. A review of 217 traumatic spinal cord injury rehabilitation admissions to a tertiary care hospital during a 5-yr period revealed 49 individuals (23%) with gunshot wound-induced spinal cord injury. A single bullet entry site was seen in 54%, whereas 17% had greater than 3 sites of entry. ⋯ Injury characteristics revealed significantly (P < 0.01) more paraplegia and complete spinal cord injury within the gunshot wound-induced spinal cord injury group. Gunshot wound-induced spinal cord injury and nonviolent traumatic spinal cord injury groups had similar lengths of stay, Functional Independence Measure scores, and discharge to home rates. This article adds to the growing body of literature examining clinical, medical, and functional outcome characteristics of individuals with spinal cord injury secondary to violence-related cause.