Spine traumas and the resulting spinal cord injuries are among the most important health problems with their physical and psychosocial impacts due to significant mortality and morbidity. Our objective in this study was to evaluate the issues that should be taken into consideration during the intensive care treatment management of patients monitored for spinal cord trauma. Patient files were examined for obtaining the demographic and clinical properties of 68 patients followed up with spine trauma diagnosis at the Intensive Care Unit during the dates of June 2011- 2016. Age, gender, cause of trauma, trauma localization, trauma injury accompanying the spine trauma, deep vein thrombosis development, infection development, ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) score, duration of intensive care stays, and properties were examined. An evaluation was made in our study according to ASIA scoring as a result of which it was determined that there are 4 ASIA A patients (5.88%) hospitalized or discharged, 5 ASIA B patients (7.35%), 14 ASIA C patients (20.58%), 24 ASIA D patients (35.29%) and 5 ASIA score E (neurologically intact) (7.35%) patients, while mortality rate was determined as 16 patients (23.52%). It was determined as a result of the evaluation carried out with regard to post-trauma intensive care unit length of stays that the average length of stay was 21.3 days with the shortest length of stay as 1 day and the longest as 96 days. Care attributes should be familiar for this patient group that requires a multidisciplinary approach and serious rehabilitation and a sufficient level of knowledge should be reached by all those involved in the follow-up procedure.
___
Sekhon LHS, Fehlings MG. Epidemiology, demographics, and pathophysiology of acute spinal cord injury. Spine. 2001;26:S2-12.
Chiu WT, Lin HC, Lam C, et al. Review paper: epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injury: comparisons between developed and developing countries. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2010;22:9-18.
Taylor and Francis.National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, Facts and Figures at a Glance.2015;1-2.
Karacan I, Koyuncu H, Pekel O, et al. Traumatic spinal cord injuries in Turkey: a nation-wide epidemiological study. Spinal Cord 2000;38:697-701.
Jia X, Kowalski RG, Sciubba DM, et al. Critical care of traumatic spinal cord injury. J Intensive Care Med. 2013;28:12-23.
Nash MS. Immune dysfunction and illness susceptibility after spinal cord injury: an overview of probable causes, likely consequences, and potential treatments. J Spinal Cord Med. 2000;23:109-10.
McLeod AD, Calder I. Spinal cord injury and direct laryngoscopy the legend lives on. Br J Anesth. 2000;705-9.
Claxton AR, Wong DT, Chung F, et al. Predictors of hospital mortality and mechanical ventilation in patients with cervical spinal cord injury. Can J Anaesth. 1998;45:144-9.
DeVivo MJ, Krause JS, Lammertse DP. Recent trends in mortality and causes of death among persons with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1999;80:1411-9.
Frankel HL, Coll JR, Charlifue SW, et al. Long term survival in spinal cord injury: a fifty year investigation. Spinal Cord. 1998;36:266-74.