Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiology of cervical spine injury in the patients with cervical trauma and analyze its associated risk factors during the special heating season in North China.MethodsThis cross-sectional study investigated predictors for cervical spine injury in cervical trauma patients using retrospectively collected data of Hebei Provincial Orthopaedic Hospital from 11/2011 to 02/2012, and 11/2012 to 02/2013. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for cervical fractures/dislocations or cord injury.ResultsA total of 106 patients were admitted into this study. Of all, 34 patients (32.1%) were treated from 11/2011 to 02/2012 and 72 patients (67.9%) from 11/2012 to 02/2013. The mean age was 41.9±13.3 years old; 85 patients (80.2%) were male and 82 (77.4%) from rural areas. Eighty patients (75.5%) were caused by fall including 45 (42.5%) by severe fall (>2 m). Sixty-five patients (61.3%) of all suffered injuries to other body regions and 32 (30.2%) got head injury. Thirty-one patients (29.2%) sustained cervical cord injury with cervical fractures/dislocations. Twenty-six (83.9%) of cervical cord injury patients were from rural areas and 24 (77.4%) of those resulted from fall including 15 (48.4%) from severe fall (>2 m). Logistic regression displayed that age (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.05–2.07), head injury (OR, 5.63; 95% CI, 2.23–14.26), were risk factors for cervical cord injury and snowing (OR, 8.25; 95% CI, 2.26–30.15) was a risk factor for cervical spine injury due to severe fall (>2 m).ConclusionsThe elder male patients and patients with head trauma are high-risk population for cervical cord injury. As a seasonal factor, snowing during heating season is of note a risk factor for cervical spine injury resulting from severe fall (>2 m) in the patients with cervical trauma in North China.
Highlights
Trauma causes 10% of death worldwide and is the leading cause of death for young people ranging from 5 to 44 years old in developed countries [1,2]
Distribution of age, gender, and regions released that young male labor from rural areas were main patient population responsible for cervical spine injury
Cervical cord injury Thirty-one patients (29.2%) sustained cervical cord injury with cervical fractures/dislocations. 83.9% (n = 26) of cervical cord injury patients were from rural areas and 77.4% (n = 24) of those resulted from fall including 48.4% (n = 15) from severe fall (.2 m)
Summary
Trauma causes 10% of death worldwide and is the leading cause of death for young people ranging from 5 to 44 years old in developed countries [1,2]. For trauma-related spinal fractures, the reported annual incidence rate varies from 0.019% to 0.088% [3,4], and for spinal cord injury, from 35 to 53 per million people [3,4,5,6,7]. Patients with cervical spine injuries are a high-risk group, with the highest reported early mortality rate in spinal trauma, as these injuries may be associated with spinal cord injury. Gupta A and Reeves B reported that Fijian spine injury and cord injury resulting from mango tree falls were an obvious seasonal scourge [9]. This seasonal trend is likely to exist in North China. Cervical spine trauma and spinal cord injury seem to occur more often during this special period
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
