Objectives: To identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with transverse myelitis (TM) and to compare functional status between those patients and a matched group with traumatic spinal cord injury (T-SCI).
Study design: Retrospective study.
Setting: A tertiary rehabilitation hospital.
Participants: The demographic and clinical characteristics of 484 T-SCI patients and 25 TM patients were compared. Functional status was further analyzed by matching the two groups.
Outcome measurements: The matched patients were compared in terms of motor and sensory functions, bladder and bowel symptoms, ambulation level, the Rivermead Mobility Index, and SCI-related medical complications.
Results: The mean age of the TM patients was 35.6 years and was similar to that of the T-SCI patients. There were significantly more females in the TM group (P = 0.017). Individuals with TM had fewer cervical injuries (P = 0.032) and a higher rate of paraplegia (P = 0.047) and were more often incomplete (P = 0.009) than those with T-SCI. Sensory function was significantly better in the TM group compared to the matched T-SCI group (P = 0.05). Independent ambulation frequency was higher in the TM patients. The SCI-related complications seen in the TM group were as common as those in the T-SCI group.
Conclusion: The TM and T-SCI groups differed in terms of the demographic and clinical characteristics recorded. Additionally, when matched for these differences, functional status was slightly better in the TM group. However, like T-SCI, TM was a significant cause of disability and SCI-related complications were common.
Keywords: Ambulation; Complications; Functional status; Transverse myelitis; Traumatic spinal cord injury.