{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T22:09:19Z","timestamp":1778537359500,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,22]],"date-time":"2023-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1695340800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82072556"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82072556"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Huazhong University of Science and Technology","award":["82072556"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82072556"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe affliction that can have a profound impact on a person\u2019s ability to move and feel, affecting a significant number of individuals. However, rehabilitation after SCI treatment remains a critical method to improve motor\u2013sensory functions, which improves the patient\u2019s quality of life. This study aims to describe the epidemiological profile of SCI during the COVID-19 pandemic (\u201cCOVID-19 period\u201d) and before and after the COVID-19 pandemic (\u201cnon-COVID-19 period\u201d) in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Materials and Methods: Medical records of 93 patients diagnosed with SCI admitted to the rehabilitation department of Wuhan Tongji Hospital from January 2019 to May 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Basic demographics and clinical characteristics such as level of injury, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale, treatment method, and concomitant injuries were analyzed. Results: Forty patients with SCI from the non-COVID-19 period and fifty-three patients from the COVID-19 period were identified. The mean ages were 38.80 \u00b1 17.71 and 44.53 \u00b1 13.27 years, respectively, with a consistent male-to-female ratio of 2:1 across both periods. Notably, falls accounted for the most prevalent mechanism of injury, constituting 50% of cases during the non-COVID-19 period and 37.74% during the COVID-19 period. The most common initial ASIA grade was B in the non-COVID-19 period and grade C in the COVID-19 period. In addition, the final ASIA grade after treatment was grade C in the non-COVID-19 period and grade D in the COVID-19 period. Conclusions: A greater proportion of males suffer from SCI, and the primary causes are falls and traffic accidents. Workers are the most vulnerable group to SCI among all patients. Prevention strategies should be customized based on the unique characteristics of SCI patients. This study highlights the importance of SCI rehabilitation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina59101699","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,24]],"date-time":"2023-09-24T10:40:22Z","timestamp":1695552022000},"page":"1699","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Impact of COVID-19 on Epidemiological Features of Spinal Cord Injury in Wuhan, China: A Comparative Study in Different Time Periods"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"59","author":[{"given":"Ruba","family":"Altahla","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jamal","family":"Alshorman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xu","family":"Tao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/17483107.2022.2096932","article-title":"Perspectives from the spinal cord injury community with teleSCI services during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study","volume":"7","author":"Dean","year":"2022","journal-title":"Disabil. 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