Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of the included studies.
| Included study | Sex (M/F) | Age (years) | Course of disease | Degree of injury | Segment of injury | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EA group | Control group | EA group | Control group | EA group | Control group | EA group | Control group | EA group | Control group | |
| Gu et al. [22] | 26/6 | 27/3 | 41.2 ± 8.2 | 39.8 ± 7.6 | 28 .8 ± 11.7 d | 30 .3 ± 17.6 d | ASIA-A:11, B:15, C:4, D:2, E:0 | ASIA-A:9, B:16, C:3, D:2, E:0 | Cervical: 4 | Cervical: 2 |
| Thoracic: 24 | Thoracic: 26 | |||||||||
| Cauda equina: 4 | Cauda equina: 2 | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
| Feng et al. [23] | 13/7 | 15/5 | 38.10 ± 7.95 | 38.90 ± 7.08 | 71.85 ± 6.96 d | 67.50 ± 6.41 d | ASIA-ICI:13, CI:7 | ASIA-ICI:15, CI: 5 | T2-T5: 2 | T2-T5: 1 |
| T6-T12: 9 | T6-T12: 10 | |||||||||
| L1-L3: 7 | L1-L3: 6 | |||||||||
| L4-S1: 2 | L4-S1: 3 | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
| Wang [24] | 56/27 | 59/24 | 21–65 | 22–67 | 31–98 d | 35–102 d | ASIA-motor score: 60.10 ± 4.66 | ASIA-motor score: 57.35 ± 4.22 | NM | NM |
| ASIA-tactile score: 76.45 ± 2.69 | ASIA-tactile score: 74.25 ± 4.85 | |||||||||
| ASIA-pain score: | ASIA-pain score: | |||||||||
| 74.50 ± 8.17 | 75.05 ± 6.66 | |||||||||
| ASIA-ICI:62, CI:21 | ASIA-ICI: 64, CI:19 | |||||||||
| ASIA-motor score: 42.16 ± 9.68 | ASIA-motor score: 44.23 ± 11.28 | |||||||||
| ASIA-tactile score: 56.76 ± 10.32 | ASIA-tactile score: 58.81 ± 12.13 | |||||||||
| ASIA-pain score: | ASIA-pain score: | |||||||||
| 56.43 ± 10.25 | 58.49 ± 11.96 | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
| Jiang and Chen [25] | 21/9 | 19/11 | 34 ± 13 | 34 ± 12 | 3.1 ± 0.5 d | 3.0 ± 0.5 d | Frankel-B:8, C:13, D:9, E:0 | Frankel-B:7, C:13, D:10, E:0 | C3-C4: 2 | C3-C4: 2 |
| C4-C5: 4 | C4-C5: 4 | |||||||||
| C5-C6: 8 | C5-C6: 7 | |||||||||
| C6-C7: 9 | C6-C7: 10 | |||||||||
| C3-C5: 1 | C3-C5: 1 | |||||||||
| C4-C6: 3 | C4-C6: 3 | |||||||||
| C5-C7: 3 | C5-C7: 3 | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
| Ou [26] | 23/19 | 24/18 | 43.6 ± 8.7 | 41.2 ± 9.4 | 38.1 ± 16.8 d | 36.7 ± 15.4 d | ASIA-B:14, C:19, D:9, | ASIA-B:13, C:21, D:8 | Cervical: 10 | Cervical: 11 |
| Thoracic: 15 | Pectoral: 14 | |||||||||
| Lumbar: 17 | Lumbar: 17 | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
| Guo et al. [27] | 12/18 | 17/13 | 51.80 ± 8.47 | 52.57 ± 7.95 | 6.26 ± 2.66 m | 5.80 ± 2.88 m | ASIA-C:19, D:11, | ASIA-C:17, D:13 | NM | NM |
| Li and Chi [28] | 15/5 | 14/6 | 40 ± 11 | 45 ± 10 | 14–30 d | LLMSS-I:1, II:3, III:16 | LLMSS-I:1, II:1, III:18 | T8–T10 | T8-T10 | T8-T10 |
| Deng Lao [29] | 12/8 | 11/9 | 21–55 | 23–60 | ＜1 m: 3, 1–3 m: 5, 4–6 m: 12 | ＜1 m: 2, 1–3 m: 7, 4–6 m: 11 | ASIA-motor score: 68.12 ± 5.02 | ASIA-motor score: 66.23 ± 6.19 | T9-L1 | T9-L1 |
| ASIA-C and D | ASIA-C and D | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
| Yang et al. [30] | NM | NM | NM | ASIA-motor score: 16.02 ± 5.52 | ASIA-motor score: 15.67 ± 5.21 | T10-L1 | T10-L1 | |||
| MAS: 0.33 ± 0.17 | MAS: 0.32 ± 0.10 | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
| Wong et al. [31] | 41/9 | 39/11 | 35.1 ± 13.0 | 34.7 ± 13.1 | 58.6 ± 17.1 d | 57.1 ± 18.7 d | ASIA-A:28, B:22 | ASIA-A:32, B:18 | Quadriplegia: 19 | Quadriplegia: 18 |
| ASIA-motor score: 41.0 ± 21.5 | ASIA-motor score: 41.0 ± 17.7 | Paraplegia: 31 | Paraplegia: 32 | |||||||
| ASIA-tactile score: 63.0 ± 23.2 | ASIA-tactile score: 60.8 ± 24.4 | |||||||||
| ASIA-pain score: | ASIA-pain score: | |||||||||
| 60.8 ± 27.7 | 59.1 ± 24.9 | |||||||||
Note: d, day; m, month; ICI, incomplete injury; CI, complete injury; ASIA, American Spinal Injury Association; NM, not mentioned; LLMSS, lower limb muscle strength score; MAS, modified Ashworth score.