title: Major trauma patients with spinal fractures have more complex injuries than non-major trauma patients.
abstract: This study examined spinal fractures in patients admitted to a Major Trauma Centre via two independent pathways, a major trauma (MT) pathway and a standard unscheduled non-major trauma (NMT) pathway. A total of 134 patients were admitted with a spinal fracture over a period of two years; 50% of patients were MT and the remainder NMT. MT patients were predominantly male, had a mean age of 48.8 years (13 to 95), commonly underwent surgery (62.7%), characteristically had fractures in the cervico-thoracic and thoracic regions and 50% had fractures of more than one vertebrae, which were radiologically unstable in 70%. By contrast, NMT patients showed an equal gender distribution, were older (mean 58.1 years; 12 to 94), required fewer operations (56.7%), characteristically had fractures in the lumbar region and had fewer multiple and unstable fractures. This level of complexity was reflected in the length of stay in hospital; MT patients receiving surgery were in hospital for a mean of three to four days longer than NMT patients. These results show that MT patients differ from their NMT counterparts and have an increasing complexity of spinal injury.
authors: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Prime
authors: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Al-Obaidi
authors: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
authors: Z
authors: Z
authors: Safarfashandi
authors: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Lok
authors: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Mobasheri
authors: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY, UK.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Akmal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000601:surgery*; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Regional Trauma Centres; Spinal Instability; Spinal Trauma