Respiratory Health

** NOTE: this website will be shutting down in 2019. All resources have been moved to the Spinal Cord Injury Research Evidence (SCIRE) Project website: https://scireproject.com/clinical-resources/health-care-providers/ **

Please email clinical [AT] rickhanseninstitute [DOT] org with any questions.

Individuals with SCI, particularly in quadriplegia, can have severe limitations in their respiratory function. Acutely, this can limit the individual’s ability to begin the healing and rehabilitation process. It can also lead to long term secondary complication risks such as decreased ventilation, pneumonia, sleep apnea, fatigue, among other issues. With early diagnosis and treatment, we can determine what treatments are necessary to improve the healing process and we can help to ensure fewer complications.

RHSCIR Respiratory Toolkit

• Toolkit you can read online
• Complete printable toolkit (PDF)
• Spirometry and Peak Cough Flow Testing Instructions (PDF)

Respiratory Facility Report

The way respiratory information is collected and reported is qutie variable at each hospital. We are awaiting more consistent data for respiratory measures (spirometry, overnight oximetry and peak cough flow) before creating this report.

For more information about these reports, click here.

Respiratory Resources 

• Resources from the ASIA ISCOS workshop "Practical solutions for respiratory care in SCI" are now available
• The Institute for Rehabilitation Research and Development, based at The Rehabilitation Centre in Ottawa, has a site with comprehensive respiratory protocols for SCI and neuromuscular diseases, among other resources
• The Canadian Thoracic Society has clinical practice guidelines for the management of home ventilation, which has evidence based guidelines for the management of the ventilated patient including advice about treatment techniques
• The American Thoracic Society has consensus statements on respiratory assessment. The SCI² instruction sheet for pulmonary function testing  is based on those statements
• The SCIRE project has evidence-based resources for respiratory management of SCI
• Looking for some articles to better understand respiratory assessment? Take a look here for some articles the experts who put together the toolkit used, available here

Assessment Forms and Chart Inserts- here you'll find examples of pre-printed orders, policies and guidelines as well as assessment and charting sheets relating to respiratory assessment and treatment.