Question
What different complications can be expected for children with spinal cord injury?
Answer
Children will often experience the same complications that the adult populations experience, however the rates of occurrence of some of the complications seem to vary. For example, deep venous thrombosis and heterotopic ossification occur at a much lower rate in the pediatric population, while scoliosis and hip joint instability occur at a much higher rate. Less than 1% of children have been diagnosed with gastric ulcerations during their hospitalizations. Hypercalcemia develops in 24-25% of children ages 16 and younger.
(Winkler and Deming. (2004). “Life Care Planning for the Child With A Spinal Cord Injury.” In S. Riddick- Grisham (Ed.) Pediatric Life Care Planning and Case Management (pp.375-420). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.)
