The Psychological Aspects of Spinal Cord Injury Patients with Pressure Sore.

Song, Jin Kyung; Yoo, Gyeol; Chung, Kyoo In; Wee, Sung Shin

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 2002;29(1):35-39.
Published online January 1, 2002.

The Psychological Aspects of Spinal Cord Injury Patients with Pressure Sore.

Jin Kyung Song, Gyeol Yoo, Kyoo In Chung, Sung Shin Wee

¹Department of Plastic Surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. jinky-song@hanmail.net
²Department of Psychology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

The occurrence of pressure sore is an important problem for persons with spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury patients suffer from pressure sore and psychological problems, but surgeons have mainly focused on wound not psychological problems. Pressure sore is almost accompanied by spinal cord injury. Surgeons should be interested in both surgery and psychological problems because of rapid recovery and good results. The purpose of this survey is to compare the patients with normal control in psychological aspects and to help the patients with proper treatment and rehabilitation. The authors used SCL-90-R(Symptom Checklist-90- Revision) for 56 spinal cord injury patients with pressure sore and 56 normal control. The results is that significant differences were found on the somatization, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety subscales. This is considered that psychological chronic pain disorder, depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, so it will be effective that psychological supportive treatment, antidepressants and antianxiety drug for spinal cord injury patients with pressure sore.

Keywords: Spinal cord injury; Pressure sore; Psychological aspects; SCL-90-R(Symptom Checklist-90-Revision)