Effects of injury level and severity on direct costs of care for acute spinal cord injury.

New treatments are being investigated for spinal cord injury (SCI), and any improvement may result in incremental cost savings. The objective of this study was to determine the direct costs of care 2 years after an SCI, stratifying for completeness and level of injury. A retrospective database analysis was carried out using data from the Quebec Trauma Registry, the Quebec Medical Insurance Board, and the Quebec Automobile Insurance Corporation between 1997 and 2007. Excluding individuals sustaining moderate or severe traumatic brain injuries, 481 individuals who sustained an SCI from motor vehicle accidents were identified. Individuals were classified as complete and incomplete in the following categories: C1-C7, C8-T6, T7-L1, L2-S5. Using data from governmental public healthcare organizations makes this study comprehensive. For C1-C7 complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries, the first-year cost was $157 718 and $56 505, respectively (2009 Canadian dollars calculated per patient). Similar differences between complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries were seen for the other groups. Furthermore, for complete injuries, costs were higher for higher levels of injury during both the first and the second year after injury. For incomplete lesions, costs did not differ significantly between groups during the first or the second year. Incomplete spinal cord injuries result in lower healthcare costs compared with complete injuries across all groups during the first 2 years after injury. As less severe levels of injury result in measurably lower costs, the funds spent to reduce the severity or level of SCI could at least partially be recouped through healthcare savings.