Medical Record Study

Data of persons with recent SCI that occurred between 01.01.1967 and 2013 are being extracted from medical records. Researching this time period the whole phase of the existence of Swiss paraplegic centers until the start of SwiSCI Pathway 3 is covered. The data collection includes especially sociodemographics, SCI characteristics as well as duration of acute care and rehabilitation.

Main outcomes of the medical record study are the annual incidence of SCI, etiology of SCI, the neurological status and morbidity during acute care and first rehabilitation, the all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality during acute care and first rehabilitation, the duration of first rehabilitation (length of stay) and the destination after discharge.

So far the medical record study includes 5701 patients. The completion of the whole data collection is planned for June 2015.

The medical record study allows a comprehensive basic description of the SCI epidemiology in Switzerland over the past 45 years. It provides information for the planning of health care services and identifies trends over time as well as future estimation of SCI in Switzerland.