Clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of persons with traumatic paraplegia living in São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical profile of individuals with paraplegia living in São Paulo, Brazil. METHOD: The sample consisted of 60 outpatients with traumatic paraplegia from whom clinical and demographic data were obtained. RESULTS: The patients were predominately men (86.7%), single (61.7%), with mean age of 32.9 (SD=9.47) years, and complete or incomplete primary education (63.3%). Although 41.7% were born in different states, all patients were current residents of São Paulo, Brazil. The most frequent cause of paraplegia was firearm injury (63.3%) followed by car accident (20%). The most common complications observed in the patients were urinary (88.3%) and anal (45%) incontinence, muscle spasm (65%), and pressure ulcers (26.7%). CONCLUSION: The data revealed that the sample consisted predominantly of young males with low education level, showing complications due to SCI, and who were victims of urban violence.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Blanes,Leila, Lourenço,Lana, Carmagnani,Maria Isabel Sampaio, Ferreira,Lydia Masako
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO 2009
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2009000300003
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