Urologic treatment in phase I of the rehabilitation of paraplegics

: Transverse spinal cord lesions entail severe secondary pathological alterations to the urinary tract, reducing longevity and quality of life. It is, therefore, urgently recommended to take a coherent approach to such patients throughout the GDR and to use for urine voiding intermittent catheterisation right from Phase I of rehabilitation. A comparison between patients admitted for treatment in 1980, on the one hand, and those hospitalised 1985, on the other, revealed an opposite trend. Transfer of patients to Phase II of rehabilitation is thus rendered difficult, and the span of rehabilitation must be substantively extended.