Measuring functional independence in spinal cord injured patients

The context of limited resources, low population incomes and the insignificant number of professionals in the care of SCI patients, largely compromises efforts aimed at motor facilitation and assessment of neuro-motor deficiencies. The aim of this study, conducted from January 2012 to December 2016, was to determine the level of functional independence in spinal cord injured patients in the post-discharge period, with a view to drawing practical conclusions. The detection of certain disorders linked to spinal cord injury using SCIM III enables them to be managed. The study involved 20 patients who survived inadequate conditions during the post-discharge period, including 16 men and 4 women (70% paraplegics and 30% tetraplegics); of the 30 who were admitted to neurosurgery and followed up in rehabilitation medicine. For the WHO, spinal cord injury is not inevitable and therefore avoidable; it cannot condemn these victims to death, so they can survive with adaptations to a new life; victims can hope for a better quality of life and be useful to society.