Epidemiological features of traumatic spinal cord injury in Anhui Province, China

• Published in: Spinal cord Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 20 - 22
• Main Authors: Wang, H F, Yin, Z S, Chen, Y, Duan, Z H, Hou, S, He, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.01.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/1687/1825; 692/700/478/174; Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Accidents, Occupational - statistics & numerical data; Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anatomy; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Child; Child, Preschool; China - epidemiology; Female; Hospitals; Human Physiology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neurochemistry; Neuropsychology; Neurosciences; Occupational Exposure; Occupations; original-article; Sex Factors; Spinal Cord Injuries - epidemiology; Spinal Cord Injuries - etiology; Spinal Cord Injuries - surgery; Spinal cord injury; Thorax; Young Adult; China; traumatic spinal cord injury; epidemiology; China; prevention
• ISSN: 1362-4393; 1476-5624
• DOI: 10.1038/sc.2012.92

Study design: A retrospective hospital-based study. Objectives: To describe the epidemiologic features of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in Anhui Province. Setting: Two hospitals within Anhui Province, China. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital records on all patients with TSCI, admitted between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2010 ( n =761). Variables included age, gender, occupation, neurological level, severity of injury, cause and treatment. Results: Seven hundred and sixty-one cases of TSCI were identified. Five hundred and eighty eight were males (77.3%) and 173 were females (22.7%), with a mean age of 45 years (s.d.=13, range from 5 to 87). Fall from height was the leading cause of injury (52.6%), followed by transport (21.2%). The neurological lesion levels were cervical (46.3%), lumbosacral (33.3%) and thoracic (20.4%). Conclusion: Prevention strategies for TSCI should target 30–60 age group, males, farmers and fall from height. The results of this study will serve as a basis for further studies on TSCI. The prevention strategies and treatment should be designed according to the injury features.