Characteristics in a traumatic spinal cord injury population

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to describe core characteristics in a Danish population of rehabilitated traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. METHODS: Retrospectively, data were extracted from a database on all traumatic patients with SCI admitted to the Spinal Cord Injury Centre of Western Denmark having sustained an injury to the spinal cord between 1 January 1997 and 1 January 2017. Age is presented as medians and interquartile ranges (IQR). RESULTS: A total of 584 (women = 122; men = 462) traumatic patients with SCI with a median age of 42.9 years (26.4-58.3 years) were identified of whom 390 underwent surgery (SG) and 55 were treated conservatively forming a conservative group (CG). The acute treatment regime was unknown in 139 patients with SCI. Patients in the CG were significantly older (median 63.6 years (IQR: 39.1-71.5) than patients in the SG (median 52.8 years (IQR: 37.2-67.2), p = 0.02). The relative risk (RR) of fractures was higher in the SG (RR = 2.74 (1.91-3.95), p < 0.0001). The initial American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grades (A, B, C and D) differed significantly (Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.02) with a higher frequency of AIS Din the CG. Fewer persons with a cervical than with a non-cervical level of injury underwent spinal surgery (RR = 0.65 (0.54-o.77), p < 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: In a Danish population of patients with traumatic SCI, we observed a preponderance for surgical treatment among a) younger patients, b) patients with vertebral fractures, and c) more severe SCI cases.