Publications by authors named "Sivakumar Gulasingam"
Purpose: Loss of upper extremity (UE) function impacts almost every aspect of daily life and upper limb recovery is reported to be a major priority of individuals living with tetraplegia. Surgical peripheral nerve transfer (PNT) offers the potential to restore volitional control of elbow, wrist and hand function of individuals with C5-C8 tetraplegia AIS A-C. Unfortunately, while there is growing evidence supporting the role of PNT in spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation, there are currently no internationally-recognized consensus-derived best practices for provision of PNT following spinal cord injury (SCI) and few programs have focused on interdisciplinary collaboration during patient selection, surgical decision making, management of medical comorbidities and postoperative rehabilitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) commonly experience significant bone loss, but lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) can appear normal or even high, prompting concerns about measurement errors.
- A study analyzed DXA scans from 58 participants with chronic SCI to identify potential errors affecting lumbar spine BMD measurements at baseline and after 2 years.
- Findings showed that 93% of scans had at least one error source, with common issues including facet sclerosis and difficulties in accurately detecting bone edges, suggesting the need to reconsider the use of lumbar spine BMD for assessing fracture risk in SCI patients.
Although spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) results in complex biological and psychosocial impairments that adversely impact an individual's overall quality of sexual life, sexual health is poorly integrated into the current rehabilitation processes. Therefore, it is vital to promote sexual health as a rehabilitation priority. Herein, we describe the selection of Sexual Health structure, process and outcome indicators for adults with SCI/D in the first 18 months after rehabilitation admission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The systematic review focused on war-related spinal cord injuries (SCIs), finding they are generally more severe and complex than civilian SCIs.
- Researchers analyzed 1,594 publications from 1946 to 2017, ultimately including 25 studies that provided insights into the demographics, injury mechanisms, and incidence of war-related SCIs.
- Key findings indicated that most affected military personnel are young, white men, frequently suffering from complete SCIs primarily due to gunshot wounds or explosions, with a higher risk observed among Marines compared to other military branches.
Objective: To create a consensus statement on the considerations for treatment of anticoagulated patients with botulinum toxin A (BoNTA) intramuscular injections for limb spasticity.
Design: We used the Delphi method.
Setting: A multiquestion electronic survey.
Abstracts and Workshops 7th National Spinal Cord Injury Conference November 9 - 11, 2017 Fallsview Casino Resort Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
J Spinal Cord Med
November 2017
The Health Economics of the spinal cord injury or disease among veterans of war: A systematic review.
J Spinal Cord Med
November 2017
Context: Information on health-care utilization and the economic burden of disease are essential to understanding service demands, service accessibility, and practice patterns. This information may also be used to enhance the quality of care through altered resource allocation. Thus, a systematic review of literature on the economic impact of caring for SCI/D veterans would be of great value.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF