Urological Care of the Paralyzed Patient

The paraplegic injured during World War I had only a 10% chance of surviving the first year. Only 20% of the American paraplegics could even be evacuated. A great majority of the deaths were caused by urinary tract sepsis. Starting in the mid and late 1940\u27s, however, with the discovery of broad spectrum antibiotics, many of the early complications were eliminated and the survival rate greatly improved. Since 1946, over 2,000 patients have been admitted to the McGuire Veterans Administration Hospital. This spinal cord injury service receives approximately 400-500 admissions per year with about 70 being new patients