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  • Savings of loss-of-life expectancy and lifetime medical costs from prevention of spinal cord injuries: analysis of nationwide data followed for 17 years

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Savings of loss-of-life expectancy and lifetime medical costs from prevention of spinal cord injuries: analysis of nationwide data followed for 17 years
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  • Published on: 9 April 2021
    Dementia after traumatic spinal cord injury: difference in the risk of quadriplegia as compared to paraplegia
    • Wei-Hung Lien, Anesthesiologist Department of Anesthesiology, Chien-Yu Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Correspondence:
    Nearly 60% of patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) experience different degrees of cognitive dysfunction, including impairment of memory and abstract reasoning.[1] A retrospective cohort study using Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database revealed that SCI significantly increased the likelihood of dementia.[2] This result aligns with previous clinical reports stating that patients with SCI frequently develop long-term cognitive impairments.[1]

    I read the article “Savings of loss-of-life expectancy and lifetime medical costs from prevention of spinal cord injuries: analysis of nationwide data followed for 17 years” [3] with deep interest. The study investigators have reported the outcomes from a comprehensive and long-term follow-up effort exploring the impact of traumatic SCI in Taiwan. In this study, Lien et al. classified traumatic SCI into traumatic quadriplegia and paraplegia with different mechanisms of injury. They reported that traumatic quadriplegia incurs higher lifetime medical costs than traumatic paraplegia.[3] Upon comparing the clinical characteristics of patients with traumatic quadriplegia and paraplegia, the prevalence of dementia after quadriplegia resulting from motor vehicle accidents (MVA) was found to be higher than that after paraplegia resulting from MVA (3.7% vs. 1.5%, p < 0.05).[3] The strength of this study lies in its comprehensive data on the SCI level, mechanisms of injury, and medical...

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    Conflict of Interest:
    None declared.