Epidemiology and clinical outcomes of spinal cord injuries at a level II trauma centre in Nigeria: a longitudinal five year study.

Background: Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are devastating consequences of traumatic injuries with far-reaching health and socioeconomic implications. The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiological characteristics of traumatic SCI and to analyse these epidemiological and clinical characteristics.

Methods: This study was a retrospective observational study. We extracted data from the medical records of all cases of acute traumatic SCI that presented at the hospital between January 2013 and December 2017.

Results: We recorded 99 cases of traumatic SCI over the study period. The patients' mean age was 37.15 ± 13.5 years with a male predominance (68.7%). Working age group accounted for 83.9% of cases. Motor vehicular accident (MVA) and falls accounted for 62.6% and 22.2% respectively. About a third of the cases (32.3%) presented within 24 hours of injury. The most frequently affected level was the cervical spine (63.6%), and complete tetraplegia was the most prevalent clinical pattern (31.3%). American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (AIS) improved in 31.3% of cases. Twenty-nine patients (30.2%) had morbidity, with 21.2% developing pressure sores. Mortality accounted for 3%.

Conclusions: Motor vehicular crash and fall-related traumatic SCI affected mostly males and the working age group with complete tetraplegia as the predominating clinical pattern. There is a need for strategic interventions to reduce MVA and improve pre-hospital care and health policies to ensure early definitive care.