Characteristics of Cervical Spine Injuries Caused by Industrial Accidents: The Experience of a Single Regional Trauma Center in South Korea

Objective: This study examined the characteristics of patients with cervical spine injuries caused by industrial accidents and analyzed the factors related to mortality. Methods: In total, 424 patients with cervical spine injuries who visited our hospital from 2016 to 2020 were divided into an industrial accident and non-industrial accident groups. Age, sex, fracture severity, facet injury, high cervical injury, spinal epidural hematoma, spinal cord injury, shock, arrival route, Injury Severity Score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), mortality, and trauma mechanism were compared between the two groups. Regression analysis was performed to determine the factors affecting mortality. Results: Industrial accident patients significantly differed from the rest of the study population in terms of the sex ratio (male ratio, 95.1% vs. 77.8%; p<0.001), arrival route (direct transport, 61.2% vs. 50.9%; p=0.017), and trauma mechanism (p<0.001). Among the trauma mechanisms, falls had the largest difference between industrial accident patients and all patients (55.3% and 28.1%, respectively). Significant associations with mortality were found for falls (odds ratio [OR], 22.330; p=0.015), ISS (OR, 1.056; p=0.008), GCS <9 (OR, 0.014; p<0.001), and shock (OR, 7.290; p<0.001). Conclusion: Falls were the most frequent trauma mechanism of cervical spine injuries in patients who experienced industrial accidents. The factors significantly correlated with mortality were falls, ISS, GCS <9, and shock.