Causes of death after spinal cord injury in the Czech Republic

Study design A retrospective cohort study Objectives To determine the causes of death in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) admitted to the Spinal Cord Unit (SCU) of the University Hospital Motol from 2004 to 2018. Setting University Hospital Motol, Prague Methods From a cohort of people admitted to the SCU between 2004 and 2018, all deaths were identified based on the database of health insurance companies. The causes of death (ICD-10) were obtained from the Institute of Health Information and Statistics. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated for most frequent causes of death. Results During the study period, 990 patients with acute SCI were admitted to the SCU, out of which 183 (18.5%) died. Thirty-five people who had SCI due to cancer were excluded from the study. The leading cause of death in the remaining 148 people was pneumonia, followed by cardiac complications, pulmonary embolism, suicide, and urinary tract infection (UTI). In the group of the individuals who died within 1 year after SCI ( N = 41), the main causes of death were pneumonia and pulmonary embolism (17.1% each). Among individuals who survived up to1 year after SCI ( N = 107), the most common causes of death were pneumonia (14%) and pressure injuries (12.1%). The cause-specific SMRs were significantly increased for UTI, embolism, pneumonia, and suicide. Conclusion The frequent causes of death in our study group were pressure injuries and suicides. These findings are fundamental to the development and implementation of preventive programs to reduce mortality and increase life expectancy.