Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Spinal injuries are among the most important injuries in motorcyclists accounting for 1 to 5% of all injuries in this group with the frequency rising as high as 11% in severe and fatal cases.The most commonly involved areas are thoracic and cervical spines. Injuries to these areas can lead to significant morbidities with life-long complications. In this study, we aim to evaluate the relation of some risk factors including speed of motorcycle at the crash, the type and the mechanism of collision and using helmet with the rate and severity of cervical injury in motorcyclists. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical files of patients with the cervical spinal injury due to motorcycle crash, diagnosed according to ICD10, who were admitted to Shahid Kamyab Trauma Center in Mashhad, Iran from January 2011 to January 2012. Medical files involved in motorcycle crashes were selected and patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled to the study. Characteristics of each motorcycle collision for each patient were determined by a traffic specialist from Traffic Police Department. Finally, the medical records were evaluated by a neurosurgery resident to identify the type of the neck injury and determine the Injury Scale Score to assess the severity of the injury. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 18. RESULTS: A total of 176 patients (mean age: 31.4, 97% male) met the inclusion criteria. Most of the accidents had occurred in rural and suburb roads outside the cities. Of the studied patients, 25 (14.2%) were found to have cervical spine fractures, 27 (15.3%) had neck strain or sprain and 153 (58.5%) had simply neck pain with no sever injuries. Neck fracture was significantly more common among the motorcyclists who had helmet when compared with nonhelmeted.... Language: en

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