Traumatic spinal cord injury: A single-center report of 108 cases

Objective As a devastating condition, traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) not only causes permanent serious dysfunction but also leads to disorders of several organ systems. It is generally known that TSCI exerts a severe burden on patients, their families and society because of the tremendous cost of health-care treatments, rehabilitation and lost productivity. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in one rehabilitation department of a university hospital. Material/Patients and methods Hospital medical records of patients with TSCI admitted to hospital from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2013 were reviewed. Collected variables included gender, age, marital status, occupation, co morbidities, etiology, level of injury, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale at admission, functional independence measure (FIM), concomitant injuries and treatment choice. Results During the study period, 108 cases were identified. Male-to-female ratio was 0.4, with a mean age of 34 ± 13 years. Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) (48.14%), followed by falls (25%) were the leading causes. The most common injury site was the cervical spinal cord, especially C4–C6, accounting for 31.5%. Most patients presented ASIA impairment scale type “A” and “B”. The mean of FIM score was 52.5. The mean of duration of stay of patients in rehabilitation department was 40 days. Surgery was the major treatment choice (84.8%). Discussion/Conclusion The number of TSCI patients increased annually in our center. The proportion of males was higher. The leading two causes were falls and MVAs. Manual workers and unemployed individuals were those at higher risk. Surgery was the major treatment choice. These data may be useful to implement those preventive strategies focused on the characteristics of different groups and pay more attention to high-risk populations.