Respiratory failure and chronic ventilator dependence in tetraplegics following cervical injuries located high on the spine (C1–C3) constitute significant challenges in the rehabilitation of patients given the occurrence of repeated hospitalizations and an ever-increasing financial burden. A 30-year-old man presented with posttraumatic tetraplegia following an unstable injury at the C1–C2 level with cord compression; he was managed by posterior stabilization and decompression followed by ventilator dependence and no rehabilitation until 6 months postinjury. We implanted phrenic nerve stimulator electrodes bilaterally for indirect diaphragm pacing by an implantable pulse generator that allowed for weaning from mechanical ventilation and spontaneous ventilator-free breathing at 20 weeks post-implantation and which facilitated post-tetraplegia rehabilitation. At 36 months after implantation, the patient is ventilator- free without any procedure-related complications or respiratory infections. Diaphragm pacing with phrenic nerve stimulation may be a way forward for ventilator-dependent tetraplegics in developing countries to pursue effective rehabilitation and improved quality of life.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patient records to collect data on demographic characteristics, injury level, injury severity, time since injury, bladder management methods (such as an indwelling catheter [IC], clean intermittent catheterization [CIC], or self-voiding [S]); we correlated these data with the findings of the renal tract US. Results: The study included 73 out of 81 male participants. The mean patient age was 29.99 years; the study group included 34.2% tetraplegics and 65.8% people with paraplegia. The time since injury was 6–12 months for 42.5% of the subjects and 12–18 months for 57.5% of the subjects. A normal US scan was recorded in 65.7% patients, and bladder trabeculation was the commonest finding in 15.1% of the subjects, followed by hydronephrosis (HDN) in 12.3%, and renal calculus and atrophy in 1.3% participants each. We found 22.22% of the IC group participants had higher US abnormalities than those in the reflex voiding group (statistically non-significant difference, p=0.7). Trabeculations (21.4%) and HDN (19%) were more common in those who had sustained the injury 12–18 months previously as compared to that in those who had injured themselves 6–12 months previously (p=0.04). The proportion of patients who had a normal US scan was higher in the group who sustained the injury 6–12 months previously versus those who had sustained the injury 12–18 months previously; the difference was statistically significant (p=0.02). There was no significant (p=0.72) correlation in the bladder management method, injury level, and renal tract abnormalities between the groups. Conclusions This retrospective study shows that 65% of TSCI participants had no renal tract abnormality on US scan and bladder trabeculation ruled out as the most common finding. Long-term supervised rehabilitation may help achieve good renal quality of life; however, further prospective trials are required on this subject.