Epidemiology of Spinal Cord Injuries and their Outcomes: A Retrospective Study at the King Khalid Hospital

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-changing neurological injury. Besides having significant implications for the patient, SCI places a considerable burden upon healthcare resources. Common causes of SCI include falls, road traffic accident (RTA), gunshots, and bomb blast. There is limited national data recording the aetiology of SCI in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study is to collate SCI data obtained from patients admitted to King Khalid hospital (KKH), Najran, over the year covering June 2018 to June 2019.

Aim: To measure the frequency and epidemiology of SCI at KKH for all patients admitted to the hospital during the study period; also to evaluate the aetiologies and use the information to propose strategies to minimise SCI.

Methods: Data for all patients admitted to KKH with SCI were assessed. Reviewed data included patients' age, gender, nationality, the cause of SCI, and the outcome.

Results: Throughout the study duration, a total of 182 patients were admitted with SCI. Of those, 53% were male, many of whom were between the ages of 16 and 30 years. Amongst males, the most common cause of SCI was RTA (59%); the second most common cause was falls (15%), which is almost tied with bomb blast (15%). Falls are the most common cause of SCI in females (13%); RTAs are the second most common cause of SCI in females. The majority of young patients were stable and had improved. However, six patients were paraplegic following RTA-initiated SCI; four patients were quadriplegic.

Conclusion: The most common cause of SCI is RTA, which is followed by fall and bomb blast. The recovery prospects of young SCI patients tend to be better than the prospects of elderly patients.