Results
The mean age was 32.03 (SD: 6.7) years, the mean time duration between the SCI and referral to our group was 8.8 (SD: 2.3) months. The SCI area was cervical, thoracal, and thoracolumbar in 13, 5, and 9 patients, respectively. Neuropathic pain was prevalent in lower extremities in 15 patients while in both upper and lower extremities in 12 patients. The cause of the SCI was motor vehicle accident in 12 patients, falls in 9 patients, recreational injuries in 3 patients, sport injuries in 2 patients, and a gunshot injury in one patient.
We observed significant amelioration in terms of patient-reported numbers of daily incontinence episodes as well as increased maximal bladder volumes and decreased maximal detrusor pressures in urodynamic studies in a total of 11 (40.17%) patients in our cohort. A significant decrease in the VAS scores for the neuropathic pain was also observed in this group.
The unresponsive patient group comprised 16 patients who were also found to have benefit from the gabapentin add-on treatment in terms of the amelioration of the neuropathic pain, which was apparent in comparison between the pre- and post-treatment VAS scores. However, the urodynamic results and the number of the incontinence episodes did not show a significant difference in these patients. These patients were referred for Botulinum Toxin injection to the bladder wall.
The clinical data of the study group is summarized in Table 1.