Physiologic Differences in Vital Signs and Urine Tests in Spinal Cord Injury and the Effects on Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis

Baseline vital signs were lower in spinal cord injury patients compared with non-spinal cord injury patients. Lower systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were associated with higher levels of spinal cord injury. Tetraplegic and paraplegic patients had baseline pyuria above 10 high power field suggesting the criteria for pyuria as a positive indicator of urinary tract infection should be different in patients with spinal cord injury than those without spinal cord injury.