Nature and number of complications and risk factors for pressure ulcers after traumatic spinal cord injury: How specialized are we? Conran Joseph1 , Kerstin Wahman2,3, Lena Nilsson Wikmar1 1Karolinska Institutet, Division of Physiotherapy; 2Karolinska Institutet, Division of Neurodegeneration; 3Rehab Station Stockholm/Spinalis R&D Unit, Stockholm, Sweden Univariate analysis of pressure ulcer risk factors Conclusions Complications, predominantly pressure ulcers and pulmonary complications were prevalent during the acute phase. The occurrence of pressure ulcers, despite protocols in place, is worrisome. Risk factors found in this study should be screened for in addition to the current assessment scale in use. Gender (M) OR: 2.88 P=0.10 Gunshot cause OR: 4.50 P<0.001 Neuropathic pain OR: 4.32 P=0.053 Complete SCI OR: 8.13 P<0.001 Risk factors for pressure ulcers Spine surgery OR: 0.52 P=0.08 Vertebral injury OR: 4.97 P=0.005 LOC OR: 6.07 P=0.007 Introduction The development of secondary complications poses a threat to health and wellness after a traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI). In the acute phase, these complications hinder the rehabilitation process and incur greater health costs. Results Pulmonary compl. OR: 5.02 P<0.001   Complications Tetraplegic (n=74) n (%) Paraplegic (n=67) Total (N=141) N (%) Pulmonary complications 23 (31) 10 (15) 33 (23.4) Pressure ulcers 19(28) 42 (29.8) Urinary tract infection 15 (20) 9 (13) 24 (17) Autonomic dysreflexia 2 (3) 2 (1.4) Deep vein thrombosis 1 (1) 7(10) 8 (5.7) Pulmonary embolism 1 (.7) Postural hypotension 1 (2) Neuropathic pain 5 (7) 3 (5) Spasticity Mean complications per patient 4 (5) 1.0 0.7  4 (2.8) UTI OR: 4:45 P=0.001 *Significant risk factors were considered at P≤0.05 . Other non-significant factors not included in the table: age, aetiology, sub-classification of SCI, associated injury, education, pre-injury employment and ethnicity. Purpose To determine the nature and number of secondary complications after a tSCI and to identify risk factors for pressure ulcers during acute care. Acknowledgements Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Senate Research Committee of the University of the Western Cape. We would like to thank all informants for their participation in the study. Presented at the WCPT Congress 2015, Singapore. Method 1-year population-based design. 141 participants with acute tSCI were screened for secondary complications during acute care. Of the sample, 25.5% presented with one complication, 16.6% with two and 8.3% with three or four. Conran Joseph (PhD candidate) Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society Division of Physiotherapy Email: conran.joseph@ki.se Telephone: +46 762175343 Conran’s PhD work focuses on epidemiological aspects, injury characteristics and acute outcomes following traumatic spinal cord injury in South Africa and Sweden.