Abstract
Back Ground/Objective Cervical spine injuries are considered to be a major trauma and classified in various
types. They are associated with various neurologic deficits and mortality rates. They
account for 50 to 75% of all spine injuries. Various studies are associated with outcome
of spinal cord injuries. Our aim was to analyze outcome of upper and lower cervical
spine injuries.
Study Design It was a retrospective study in all traumatic cervical spine injuries in all age
groups at our center during the past 3 years.
Method All cases operated in the past 3 years at our center were taken up for study. Initial
hospital records were reviewed. Patients will be divided into two groups on the basis
of anatomic level upper (C1 and C2) and lower (C3 or below) cervical spine. Outcomes
were analyzed on criteria of demography, mechanism of injury, preoperative neurologic
status, involvement of respiratory system, and time of surgery following injury.
Result tatically significant test was applied for analysis of outcome of cervical spine
injury based on aforementioned criteria.
Conclusion In this study, survival rates of patients with upper and lower cervical spine injuries
were calculated on the basis of mechanism of injury, preoperative neurologic status,
respiratory involvement, and time of surgery following injury. Operative treatment
of lower cervical injury was better associated with an improved outcome than upper
cervical spine injuries. Further prospective study is required for better assessment.
Keywords
cervical spinal cord - injury - outcome analysis
