Orthotic walking outcome of persons with motor complete low thoracic spinal cord injury—a retrospective study

• Published in: Spinal cord 2023-03, Vol.61 (3), p.224-230
• Main Authors: Senthilvelkumar, Thangavelu, Chalageri, Prashanth H., Durairaj, Samuel Kirubakaran, Venkatraman, Maheswari, Chandy, Bobeena Rachel, Rebekah, Grace, Thomas, Raji, George, Jacob
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/617/375/1824; 692/700/565/491; Adult; Anatomy; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Disability Evaluation; Gait; Human Physiology; Humans; Injury analysis; Multivariate analysis; Neurochemistry; Neuropsychology; Neurosciences; Parameters; Patients; Regression analysis; Rehabilitation; Retrospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Spinal cord injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries - complications; Spinal Cord Injuries - rehabilitation; Thorax; Walking
• ISSN: 1362-4393; 1476-5624
• DOI: 10.1038/s41393-023-00875-5

Study design Retrospective study. Objective To analyse the orthotic walking outcome of patients with Low Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury (LT-SCI). Setting The Rehabilitation Institute at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India. Methods Data between January 2005 and June 2015 were retrospectively collected from electronic medical reports of patients with motor complete LT- SCI who were admitted for the comprehensive rehabilitation program. The orthotic walking outcome of these patients was measured by the Walking index for SCI version II (WISCI II). Demographical and clinical parameters were measured and their association with the walking outcome was analyzed using regression analysis. Results A total of 430 patients were identified within the study period. Eighty-five percent of people ( n  = 365) achieved walking at the time of discharge (WISCI II level 12 = 260 and level 9 = 105). Out of 11 demographical and clinical parameters considered, eight of them were found to be significant predictors of walking in the univariate analysis. Age less than 30 years had the highest odds of predicting WISCI II level 9 and level 12 than those older in the multivariate analysis (OR 17.58; 95% CI 7.35–42.03). Single neurological level T12 increased the chance of achieving WISCI II level 12 by 10 times (OR 10.2; 95% CI 3.8–27.36). Conclusions Orthotic walking for persons with motor complete low thoracic spinal cord injury is an achievable goal through a comprehensive rehabilitation program. The factors identified in this study will help rehabilitation professionals strategically select the ideal candidate for orthotic gait training.