Epidemiological study of vertebral trauma in Isfahan Province during 2012-2018

Traumatic spinal injuries are the main cause of patients' morbidity and the underlying health costs. The first step in prevention of these injuries is to recognize their epidemiologic factors. The aim of this study was to identify the demographic and some other risk factors of traumatic spinal injuries in Isfahan Province. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 510 patients with traumatic spinal injuries referred to two main hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences during 2012-2018. Demographic data of the patients including age, sex, mechanism of injury, level of injury, type of fracture and the need for surgery were recorded. The mean age of the patients was 42.31±14.52 years and 30.4% were female. Seventeen percent of the patients had neck injury, 26.9% had thoracic damage, 56.1% had the lumbar region damage, and 13.3% suffered spinal cord injury. Also, 18% were surgically treated for spinal fracture. The most common type of fracture was compression fracture (29.4%), followed by burst fracture (28%). The most common mechanism of trauma was car accident. Considering the high prevalence of traffic accidents in this country and the following occurrence of spinal cord injury, more studies need to be conducted regarding factors affecting the spinal cord injuries and the ways of preventing these injuries, and as a result we can reduce social and financial burden of these injuries on society.