The association between bladder-emptying methods and health-related quality of life among Iranian individuals with spinal cord injury

Objectives: In this study, we compared the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) using different bladder emptying methods including normal spontaneous micturition (NSM), micturition with assisted maneuvers (MAM), aseptic intermittent catheterization by patient (IC-P), aseptic IC by an attendant/caregiver (IC-A) and indwelling catheterization.Design: Cross-sectional.Setting: Tertiary rehabilitation center.Participants: Patients referred to Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center between 2012 and 2014.Outcome measures: HRQoL was assessed by Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Hierarchical regression analysis with adjustment for probable confounders (demographic and injury-related variables) was performed to assess the relationship between bladder-emptying method and total SF-36 score.Results: Patients with injury at cervical sections had significantly lower scores in domain of physical functioning (PF), physical component summary (PCS) and total score (P: 0.0...