Epidemiology and predictors of traumatic spine injury in severely injured patients: implications for emergency procedures

• Published in: European journal of trauma and emergency surgery (Munich : 2007) 2022-06, Vol.48 (3), p.1975-1983
• Main Authors: Häske, David, Lefering, Rolf, Stock, Jan-Philipp, Kreinest, Michael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Bone surgery; Brain research; Critical Care Medicine; Decision making; Documentation; Emergency medical care; Emergency Medicine; Emergency procedures; Epidemiology; Hospitals; Intensive; Intensive care; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original; Original Article; Patients; Spinal cord injuries; Sports Medicine; Surgery; Surgical Orthopedics; Trauma; Traumatic brain injury; Traumatic Surgery
• ISSN: 1863-9933; 1863-9941
• DOI: 10.1007/s00068-020-01515-w

Purpose This study aimed to identify the prevalence and predictors of spinal injuries that are suitable for immobilization. Methods Retrospective cohort study drawing from the multi-center database of the TraumaRegister DGU ® , spinal injury patients ≥ 16 years of age who scored ≥ 3 on the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) between 2009 and 2016 were enrolled. Results The mean age of the 145,833 patients enrolled was 52.7 ± 21.1 years. The hospital mortality rate was 13.9%, and the mean injury severity score (ISS) was 21.8 ± 11.8. Seventy percent of patients had no spine injury, 25.9% scored 2–3 on the AIS, and 4.1% scored 4–6 on the AIS. Among patients with isolated traumatic brain injury (TBI), 26.8% had spinal injuries with an AIS score of 4–6. Among patients with multi-system trauma and TBI, 44.7% had spinal injuries that scored 4–6 on the AIS. Regression analysis predicted a serious spine injury (SI; AIS 3–6) with a prevalence of 10.6% and cervical spine injury (CSI; AIS 3–6) with a prevalence of 5.1%. Blunt trauma was a predictor for SI and CSI (OR 4.066 and OR 3.640, respectively; both p   3 m for SI (OR 2.243; p