Epidemiology of Cervical Spine Fractures

Background: Epidemiology of cervical spine fractures (CSfx) in trauma patients of general population is not yet exclusively known. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of CSfx in trauma patients. Patients and Methods: Data from trauma patients admitted in the emergency room (ER) of Shiraz Shahid Rajaei hospital during the ۳.۵ years period from September ۲۲, ۲۰۰۹ to March ۲۱, ۲۰۱۳, were gathered. All trauma patients with CSfx and/or spinal cord injuries were included in the study. The time of the trauma, mechanism of trauma, injury position, and incidence of cervical spine fractures in the patients were recorded. Results: A total of ۴۶۹ patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean age of the patients was ۳۴.۷ years old, with a minimum age of ۱۶ years old and a maximum age of ۸۹ years old. Young adults were most frequently affected. Out of ۴۶۹ cases, ۳۶۸ patients (۷۸.۴۷%) were male and ۱۰۱ (۲۱.۵۳%) were female. We had a total of ۱۷ SCI cases among our patients (۳.۶۲%), out of which ۵ (۲۹.۴۱%) were deceased. The total number of deaths in our study was ۲۹ (۶.۱۸%); ۵ (۱۷.۲۴%) with SCI and ۲۴ (۸۲.۷۶%) without SCI. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that most victims of CSfx in our region are ۱۶ to ۴۰ years of age. A male predominance was observed, and motor vehicle collisions were the most frequent trauma mechanism leading to cervical spine injury (mostly due to car rollover accidents), with falls as the second most frequent. The rate of SCI in our study was ۳.۶۲% of all cases and the mortality rate was ۶.۱۸%.