title: Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with traumatic cervical spinal cord injury: a Turkish hospital-based study.
abstract: METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) admitted to a single Center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of all patients with spinal cord injury admitted from January 2009 to December 2013 were screened. Variables of each patient with cervical injury (CSCI), such as age at the time of injury, gender, etiology, degree and level of neurological impairment, associated injuries, surgical stabilization and length of rehabilitation stay (LOS), were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, there were 804 patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) during the 5-year study period, of which 562 (69.9%) were paraplegic and the remaining 242 (30.1%) had a CSCI (C1-C8) and were included in the study. Among the CSCI patients, 80.6% were male (male:female ratio is 4.15:1), mean age at the time of injury was 32.58±14.71 years (range: 4-79 years), the largest age group was 16-30 years (n=117, 48.3%), followed by 31-45 years (n=70, 28.9%). Motor vehicle accident (MVA) was the most common cause of injury (49.2%), followed by falls (21.5%) and diving accidents (18.2%). Low CSCI (C5-8; 61.2%) and incomplete injury (55%) occured more often than high CSCI (C1-4) and complete injury. In total, 202 (83.5%) patients underwent surgical stabilization. Thirty-seven (15.3%) had associated injuries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings show that most of the CSCI patients were aged 16-30 years. In addition, based on the frequency of the causes of injuries we think that prevention efforts should mainly focus on MVA, falls and diving accidents.
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ü
authors.initials: Ü
authors.lastname: Güzelküçük
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kesikburun
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aras
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Özyörük
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D066193:Cervical Cord / Q000293:injuries*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult