Poster 76: “Young” cervical spinal stenosis: a review of 118 patients less than 51 years of age

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of cervical spinal stenosis in an inpatient population <51 years of age. Design: A retrospective analysis. Setting: A 940-bed community teaching hospital. Participants: 460,964 total hospital admissions over a 10-year period. 555 with cervical spinal stenosis, 118 of whom (73 men, 45 women) were identified as <51 years of age. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Diagnosis of cervical spinal stenosis in an inpatient population, age, and gender. Results: Of 460,964 total hospital admissions, 555 (.12%) had cervical spinal stenosis, with an incidence rate of 120 per 100,000 and a mean age of 63.24 years. Of the 555 patients with cervical spinal stenosis, 118 (21%) were <51 years of age, with an incidence rate of 26 per 100,000. Based on age stratification by decade (21–30y, 31–40y, 41–50y), no significant differences were found between gender and age groups ( P=.574). Each age group with cervical spinal stenosis had a proportional distribution of men and women. Using the exact test to analyze the data of this 10-year review relative to age, a preponderance of young stenotics was demonstrated in the last 5 years of the decade. Conclusion: Although spinal stenosis (both cervical and lumbar) has been regarded primarily as a disorder of the elderly, 21% of those with cervical spinal stenosis and 10% with lumbar spinal stenosis can be anticipated to be younger than 51 years of age. The notable increase in the total number of cases with cervical spinal stenosis in the last half of this 10-year review suggests that there is a growing clinical awareness of cervical spinal stenosis occurring not only in the elderly but also in the young.