Open AccessHeterotopic ossification after spinal cord injury. Epidemiology and risk factors
Author(s) -
Wittenberg Rh,
U Peschke,
U Bötel
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of bone and joint surgery. british volume/the journal of bone and joint surgery. british volume
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0968-7300
pISSN - 0301-620X
DOI - 10.1302/0301-620x.74b2.1544955
Subject(s) - heterotopic ossification , medicine , ossification , spinal cord injury , surgery , spinal cord , psychiatry
From 1981 to 1986 we treated 413 patients for acute spinal-cord injuries. We reviewed 356 patients followed for a minimum of two years of whom 71 (20%) developed heterotopic ossification around one or more joints. Heterotopic ossification occurred more often in male patients (23%) than in female (10%), and was most frequent in the 20- to 30-year age group. It was also more common after injuries of the lower cervical or thoracic spine than after those of the lumbar spine. Patients with severe neurological deficits (Frankel grades A and B) showed significantly more heterotopic ossification but there was no correlation with the number or severity of associated head and limb injuries. Serum calcium levels did not change significantly in either group for 30 weeks after injury, but the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and the alkaline phosphatase level were significantly increased at six weeks in patients with heterotopic ossification.