ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patients with spinal cord injury have a significant degree of morbidity and mortality caused by renal disease. Tubulointerstitial form of renal disease with minimal proteinuria predominate in this population. A retrospective study was performed to investigate the risk factors that may contribte to the development of proteinuria in patient with chronic spinal cord injury. METHODS: Between December 1999 and May 2000, 40 spinal cord injury patient in Korean Veterans Hospital were recurited retrospectively into the study. The information was gathered included medical record, laboratory data, and radiological study. RESULTS: Proteinuric subjects were older, had a longer duration of injury, had undergone a greater number of decubitus ulcer procedures and hydronephrosis. CONCLUSION: Proteinuria in the patients with spinal cord injury was related to the increase of the therapy for the decubitus ulceration, hydronephrosis, and the duration of the spinal cord injury, and it developed significantly more in paraplegia patients than in quadriplegia patients, which might be due to the more duration of the spinal cord injury in paraplegia patients. Therapeutic efforts directed toward preserving renal function should focus on avoidance of hydronephrosis, and decubitus ulceration.