SPINAL CORD INJURY
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Approximately 10,000 new spinal cord
injuries (SCIs) occur each year in the United States. About 250,000
people are currently affected. Spinal cord injuries can happen to
anyone at any time of life. The typical patient, however, is a man
between the ages of 19 and 26, injured in a motor vehicle accident (about
50% of all SCIs), a fall (20%), an act of violence (15%), or a
sporting accident (14%). Most SCI patients are white, but the
nonwhite fraction of SCI patients is larger than the nonwhite
fraction of the general population. Alcohol or other drug abuse
plays an important role in a large percentage of all spinal cord
injuries. Six percent of people who receive injuries to the lower
spine die within a year, and 40% of people who receive the more
frequent higher injuries die within a year.
Short-term costs for hospitalization, equipment, and home
modifications are approximately $140,000 for an SCI patient capable
of independent living. Lifetime costs may exceed one million dollars.
Costs may be 3-4 times higher for the SCI patient who needs long-term
institutional care. Overall costs to the American economy in direct
payments and lost productivity are more than $10 billion per year. |
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| SPINAL CORD INJURY RELATED ITEMS |
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