Evaluation Of Quality Of Life Of Patient Operated On For Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury In Two Reference Hospitals In Cameroon.

Abstract

Introduction:  Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a traumatic event that results in disturbances to normal sensory, motor, or autonomic function and ultimately impacts a patient’s physical, psychological, and social well-being. Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event with negative physiological, psychological, and social consequences for individuals and an economic burden on society. In addition to the immediate neurologic deficits, individuals are at higher risk of developing complications directly or indirectly which tend to have an influence on quality of life. The goal of this study was to describe the quality of life following surgical management of traumatic spine injuries at 6 months and above. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study over a period of 4 months from January 2022 to April 2022 in the surgical units of Bamenda Regional Hospital and Mbingo Baptist Hospital. We included patients operated for traumatic spine injury at at least 6 months and above, Sampling  was consecutive and Quality Of Life (QOL) was determined using the OSWESTRY Disability Index (ODS). Data was obtained on pre-designed questionnaires , entered and analysed using CSPRO and SPSS version 7.5 and 23 respectively. Results: We recruited a total of 67 cases, of which 32 were from Mbingo Baptist Hospital (MBH) and 18 were from Bamenda Regional Hospital( BRH). The prevalence of SCI was 1.7 per 100. Male were predominant at 68%, with the sex ratio of 2.1. Our study population mean age was 38±13. 62% of our patients were of good quality. In our study, we found that quality of life associated was associated with neurologic deficit (OR=0.01 ,CI=0.002-0.013, P value =0.003) , hemodynamic state (OR=0.36 ,CI=(0.25-0.54,P value =0,99), ASIA score before surgery (OR=5.15 ,CI=(4.71-132.65,P value =0.008), pain after surgery (OR=7.07 ,CI=(04.71-12.65,P value =0.06) and the type of spinal cord injury with the (OR=0.13 ,CI=(0.002-0.43,P value =0.07). Conclusion: The QOL of patients with SCI revealed that, 62% of our patients had a good quality of life