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Legal Medicine Research Center, Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: (158 Views)
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 2021. 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 26).
Results: This study examined 52 cases of spinal cord injury with a mean age of 36±12 years, 32.7% of whom were women and 67.3% were men. The most common injury mechanisms were, respectively, traffic accidents (77.60%), work accidents (12.20%), and struggle (5.8%). A total of 37.17% of patients had injuries in the thoracic vertebrae, 31.85% in the lumbosacral, and 30.97% in the cervical vertebrae. The most frequently damaged vertebra was the twelfth thoracic vertebra (10.62%), followed by the second lumbar vertebra (9.73%) and the fifth cervical vertebra 8.85%). After one year of injury, 65.4% of the patients had bedsores. In general, 48.8% of the patients were heads of households and were responsible for caring for 1 to 5 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
Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Razavi Khorasan Forensic Medicine Center (Iran) in 2021. 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 26).
Results: This study examined 52 cases of spinal cord injury with a mean age of 36±12 years, 32.7% of whom were women and 67.3% were men. The most common injury mechanisms were, respectively, traffic accidents (77.60%), work accidents (12.20%), and struggle (5.8%). A total of 37.17% of patients had injuries in the thoracic vertebrae, 31.85% in the lumbosacral, and 30.97% in the cervical vertebrae. The most frequently damaged vertebra was the twelfth thoracic vertebra (10.62%), followed by the second lumbar vertebra (9.73%) and the fifth cervical vertebra 8.85%). After one year of injury, 65.4% of the patients had bedsores. In general, 48.8% of the patients were heads of households and were responsible for caring for 1 to 5 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
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Trauma
Received: 2024/05/23 | Accepted: 2024/12/17 | ePublished ahead of print: 2025/03/15
Received: 2024/05/23 | Accepted: 2024/12/17 | ePublished ahead of print: 2025/03/15
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