Epidemiologic Aspects of Spinal Cord Trauma Cases among Traffic Accident Victims

Objective: To describe and analyze characteristics of cases of spinal cord Trauma (SCT) among traffic accident victims admitted to a referral hospital. Method: Descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study with quantitative approach, developed in the city of Campina Grande, in the state of Paraiba, Brazil. The population consists of 1,884 medical records of patients admitted to hospital after damage caused by traffic accidents from January to December 2016. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results: Among the victims of traffic accidents, there was a male predominance (85.4%). The most affected age group was 21 to 30 years (29%). Accidents involving motorcyclists were predominant (82.9%) and 43 victims (2.3%) suffered spinal injury. Among these ones, there was a prevalence of males (86%), in the age group between 21 and 30 years (35.7%). In 30 cases (69.8%), the victims had spinal injuries. The cervical level (55.8%) was dominant. In addition, 46.7% of the victims were classified as ASIA and there were 9 cases (30%) of paraplegia and 1 case (3.3%) of tetraplegia. A bivariate analysis revealed a significant association between the variable presence of SCT and type of accident (p <0.001), use of cervical collar (p <0.005), injuries in other anatomical regions (p <0.001), surgical treatment (p < 0.001) and outcome of the patient’s situation (p <0.005). Conclusions: Among the victims of traffic accidents and SCT there was a predominance of males, young individuals and motorcyclists. Keywords: Epidemiology. Traffic-accidents. Public health. Spinal injuries. Spinal cord trauma.