Epidemiological Study of Spinal Cord Injuries in Basrah

Abstract

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the major insults to the central nervous system (CNS) that results in persisting physical and psychological sequel. The study aimed to investigate the epidemiologic and demographic characters of cases with SCI who were admitted to a department of neurosurgery.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of cases with SCI from traumatic or non-traumatic reasons who were hospitalized for rehabilitation to a dedicated hospital between 2022 and 2024. Data on demographic, injury and medical characteristics were obtained from case records. Descriptive analyses of SCI are suggested with stratification by key demographic characteristics and SCI specific characteristics (e.g., sex, age at injury, American spinal injury association impairment scale (AIS) score at admission and discharge, SCI type, and etiology) according to the international spinal cord society guidelines.

Results: In total, 200 cases of SCI were included in the study. Of these, 161 were traumatic and 60 were non-traumatic. In the traumatic SCI group, 132 (83.2%) were males and 28 (16.8%) were females; in the non-traumatic SCI group, 21 (56.7%) were males and 20 (43.3%) were females. The mean age of the overall cohort was 50.7 ± 18.8 years, and that of the traumatic and the non-traumatic SCI groups were 48.7 ± 19.1 and 55.8 ± 17.4 years, respectively. Most common AIS scale was D. tetraplegia disability more common reported. Falling off was the most common cause of traumatic SCI (n = 60, 37.3%), followed by motor accidents (n = 57, 35.4%). Incomplete pattern of trauma is frequent.

Conclusion: The mean age of SCI patients was higher than that of previous studies. Falls were the single most common cause of traumatic SCI. However, non-traumatic reasons are mostly attributed to neoplasm