EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SPINE FRACTURES IN MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT VICTIMS

Tiago Argolo Bittencourt De Oliveira,Marcus Thadeu Venâncio Simões,Marcos Almeida Matos,Jayme Batista Freire,Marcelo De Luna Freire Lima,Maurício Santos Gusmão,Gabriel Oliveira Prado,Sérgio Murilo Dos Santos Andrade,Maurício Guimarães Pimentel,Glauco Landim Batista Sampaio,Eduardo Gil França Gomes,Djalma Castro De Amorim Junior,Rony Brito Fernandes,Joilda Fontes Gomes

doi:10.1590/s1808-185120161501147147

Tiago Argolo Bittencourt De Oliveira, Marcus Thadeu Venâncio Simões + Show 12 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1808-185120161501147147

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the incidence of spinal injuries between 2000-2010 due to motorcycle accidents and the relation to the increase in motorcycle sales in the same period, as well as the anatomical distribution of these spinal injuries. Methods: Data were collected from 1,295 records of patients who have suffered spinal injury resulting from motorcycle accidents admitted to the ward TRM (Spinal Cord Trauma) of the Hospital Geral do Estado da Bahia from 2000 to 2010 in this retrospective study. We selected 110 medical records and collected information on sex, age, neurological deficit on admission (according to Frankel scale), diagnosis, and level of injury. Results: Between 2000 and 2010 there was an increase of almost five times in the incidence of patients who have suffered spinal injury due to motorcycle accidents. More than half (51.4%) had cervical spine injury, 37.2% thoracic spine injury and 11.34% had lumbar spine injury. Only 34.3% of patients had no neurological deficit on admission and patients with thoracic spine fracture had a higher incidence and severity of lesion. The average age of patients was 30 years. Conclusions: The increased incidence of spinal injuries due motorcycle accidents occurred in the same period in which there was an increase in motorcycle sales in the country. Patients who have suffered those injuries were young, with higher incidence in the cervical and thoracic spinal levels and high rates of neurological deficit.

Highlights

Over the last decade, Brazil has experienced a real epidemic of motorcycle accidents
Between 2000 and 2010, 110 patients were registered as victims of motorcycle accidents
More than half (51.4%) of the injuries were in the cervical spine, 37.2% were in the thoracic spine, and 11.4% were in the lumbar spine. (Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

Brazil has experienced a real epidemic of motorcycle accidents. The number of incidents has tripled and the number of deaths risen from 4,541 in 2001 to 14,666 in 2011.1 During the same period, the total fleet of motorcycles grew from 4.5 to 19.9 million.[2] According to Vasconcelos and Ribeiro,3 26% of the patients with spinal injuries in the city of Ribeirão Preto were victims of motorcycle accidents. Motorcyclists accounted for 48.4% of the public costs of hospitalizations resulting from traffic accidents in 2012.1. 11.2% of motorcycle accident victims suffer spinal injuries and trauma from hyperflexion of the thoracic spine is the most commonly encountered spinal injury.[4] Patients with fractures at this level experience complete neurological deficit more often than with fractures of the cervical and lumbar spines.[5]

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