Prognostic factors for 12-year survival after spinal cord injury.

A study of 9,135 persons injured between 1973 and 1984 and treated at any of 13 model regional spinal cord injury care systems was conducted to determine both overall survival and the effects of prognostic factors. All subjects survived at least 24 hours, and followup ended December 31, 1985. Cumulative 12-year survival was 85.1% (88.2% of normal). Survival ranged from almost 95% (more than 96% of normal) for persons who were younger than 25 years at time of injury and who had neurologically incomplete lesions, to 18.1% (26.9% of normal) for persons who were at least 50 years old at time of injury and who had neurologically complete quadriplegia. Spinal cord injury mortality rates ranged from 1.68 to 15.98 times higher than corresponding rates for non-spinal-injured persons. Although mortality rates for many persons with spinal cord injuries have declined dramatically during the past few decades, these data confirm the continued poor prognosis for older persons with neurologically complete quadriplegia.