Epidemiological Evaluation of Patients with Spinal Cord Injury Referred to the Legal Medicine Organization of Mashhad in ۲۰۲۱

Introduction: Spinal cord injuries caused by trauma are one of the most disabling public health challenges of society. This study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of spinal cord injuries in the forensic medicine referees of Mashhad, Iran, during one year. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Razavi Khorasan Forensic Medicine Center (Iran) in ۲۰۲۱. The hospital records of the patients related to intensive care units, emergency, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and rehabilitation departments, which were available in the forensic medical records of the patients, were reviewed. The sampling method in this research was considered a one-year census. Data analysis was performed using chi-square using SPSS software (version ۲۶). Results: This study examined ۵۲ cases of spinal cord injury with a mean age of ۳۶±۱۲ years, ۳۲.۷% of whom were women and ۶۷.۳% were men. The most common injury mechanisms were, respectively, traffic accidents (۷۷.۶۰%), work accidents (۱۲.۲۰%), and struggle (۵.۸%). A total of ۳۷.۱۷% of patients had injuries in the thoracic vertebrae, ۳۱.۸۵% in the lumbosacral, and ۳۰.۹۷% in the cervical vertebrae. The most frequently damaged vertebra was the twelfth thoracic vertebra (۱۰.۶۲%), followed by the second lumbar vertebra (۹.۷۳%) and the fifth cervical vertebra ۸.۸۵%). After one year of injury, ۶۵.۴% of the patients had bedsores. In general, ۴۸.۸% of the patients were heads of households and were responsible for caring for ۱ to ۵ people. Conclusion: Most of the spinal cord injured patients are young men of working and production age who need continuous care and supportive measures after injury. The costs of caring for these patients are high, and after receiving the initial compensation, they do not have any further financial or social support. Moreover, the caregivers of these people need training on how to care for the patient to prevent complications such as bedsores and infections. Knowledge of epidemiological factors can facilitate the design and planning of ways to prevent such injuries

کلیدواژه ها:

Epidemiology ، Nervous system ، Spinal cord injuries ، Trauma ، Traffic accidents