Sacral Sparing

CLASSIFICATION OF INJURY SEVERITY

While there is a myriad of circumstances which lead up to TSCIs, it is imperative to note that the prognosis is primarily determined by whether the injury was clinically complete or incomplete (Burns et al. 2012). Sacral sparing – indicating that the injury is clinically incomplete - is considered present when the dermatomes and myotomes which correspond to the lowest segment of the spinal cord exhibit preservation of function.

Sacral sparing signifies that the physiologic continuity of the spinal cord is not entirely damaged and therefore neural tissue at the level of injury is still partly functional. Although partial recovery from SCIs has been documented, it remains a phenomenon largely restricted to patients who have suffered

2011).

Healthcare expenditure for TSCI patients reflects the severity of the condition and the multidisciplinary approach to treatment and rehabilitation which is required. A striking difference is observed in the cost of managing TSCIs depending on the severity of injury. A Canadian study concluded that expenditure attributable to complete TSCIs averaged just short of 3 times the cost of managing incomplete TSCIs during the first year following diagnosis (Dryden et al. 2005). Follow-up care during the ensuing 5 years averaged just above 50% for complete TSCIs in comparison to incomplete TSCIs (Dryden et al. 2005).

Although a global analysis categorizing TSCIs according to severity is lacking, an analytical review of literature from developing countries put forward 56.5% as the proportion of complete TSCIs (Rahimi-Movaghar et al. 2013). For regions within Africa, the inclusion of injury severity in prevalence and incidence studies was restricted to researches conducted in hospital based