Introduction: PIs are very common in those with SCI and pose a significant health and economic burden. Optimal prevention strategies require rapid identification of high-risk populations.
Objective: The authors examined risk factors for PI in persons with traumatic SCI, focusing on mechanism of injury and sociodemographic variables.
Materials and methods: Patients aged 18 years or older at the authors' institution who had a traumatic SCI between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2018 were included. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted.
Results: Of 448 patients, 94 patients (21%) had a violent SCI and 163 patients (36%) developed PIs. Violent mechanism of SCI was a significant predictor of a single (56% vs 31%; P <.001) or multiple PIs (83% vs 61%; P <.01), flap coverage (26% vs 17%; P <.05), and higher median stage PI (stage 4 vs stage 3, P <.05). Male sex (OR = 2.08; P <.05), complete SCI (OR = 5.51; P <.001), and violent mechanism of SCI (OR = 2.36; P <.01) were significant predictors on multivariate analysis. Increasing age at the time of SCI (OR = 1.01; P <.05) and unmarried marital status (OR = 1.77; P <.01) were predictive on univariate analysis.
Conclusions: Patients of male sex, complete SCI, and violent mechanism of SCI may be at higher risk of PI development and would benefit from more intensive prevention initiatives.