title: Incidence and aetiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in Cape Town, South Africa: a prospective, population-based study.
abstract: METHODS
  Prospective, regional population-based study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide the incidence, aetiology and injury characteristics of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in the City of Cape Town, South Africa.
  
  
  METHODS
  All government-funded hospitals within the City of Cape Town, South Africa.
  
  
  METHODS
  All survivors of acute TSCI, given that they met the inclusion criteria, were prospectively included for a 1-year period. The International Spinal Cord injury Core Data Set was used and systematically completed by specialist doctors. Further, international standards for neurological classification were adhered to.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 147 cases of acute TSCI were identified and 145 were included in the study. The male to female ratio was 5.9:1 and the mean age was 33.5 years, ranging from 18 to 93. The crude incidence rate was 75.6 per million (95% CI: 64.3-88.8) with assault as the main cause of injury, accounting for 59.3% of the cases, followed by motor vehicle accidents (26.3%) and falls (11.7%). Most injuries occurred in the cervical spine (53.1%), and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A severity was most common (39.3%) in the cohort.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence rate of TSCI in a region of South Africa was high when compared to previously postulated figures for the country. There is a need for primary preventative strategies to target younger men that are exposed to violent activities. A national study is required to learn whether these findings are only locally applicable or generalisable.
authors.affiliation: Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delcarme
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.|Division of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vlok
authors.affiliation: Section Neurorehabilitation, Division of Neurodegeneration, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.|Rehab Station Stockholm/Spinalis R&D Unit, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nilsson Wikmar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D055815:Young Adult
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