Relationship of biological factors to survival in spinal gunshot injuries.
BACKGROUND
Gunshot injuries are the third leading cause of spinal injuries, after falls from a significant height and traffic accidents. Severity of spinal damage from gunshot injury depends upon certain mechanical and biological factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of biological factors on survival in cases of spinal gunshot injury.


METHODS
A total of 110 cases of spinal gunshot injury admitted multiple times to emergency services between 2012 and 2014 were included. Age, sex, region of trauma, additional organ or systemic involvement, treatment modalities (conservative, surgical), and mortality rates were analyzed. Effects of biological factors on survival were evaluated.


RESULTS
Mean age of the study population was 25.51±11.74 years (min: 4; max: 55) and 95.5% of the population was male. Regions of trauma were thoracic in 50 (45.4%) subjects, cervical in 42 (38.2%), and lumbar in 18 (16.4%). Most common American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score was category A, as was found in 77 (70%) cases. No significant correlation was found among age, sex, ASIA score, treatment modality (conservative or surgical), and survival (p>0.05). Additional organ or systemic injury was present in 66 (60%) patients. Additional organ or systemic injury significantly affected survival, independent of the spinal region of trauma (p<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Spinal gunshot injuries are complex, with unclear treatment protocol. Irrespective of the indications of spinal surgery, additional organ injuries unfavorably affect survival in cases of spinal gunshot injury. Appropriate management of all biological factors directly affects mortality rate in cases of spinal gunshot injury.
Department of Neurosurgery Deva Hospital, Gaziantep-Turkey. memetsecer@gmail.com.
Mehmet
M
Seçer
Department of Neurosurgery, Sanko University Sani Konukoğlu Hospital, Gaziantep-Turkey.
Murat
M
Ulutaş
Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Ankara-Turkey.
Fatih
F
Alagöz
Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Ankara-Turkey.
Özhan Merzuk
ÖM
Uçkun
Department of Neurosurgery, Sanko University Sani Konukoğlu Hospital, Gaziantep-Turkey.
Kadir
K
Çınar
Department of Emergency, Antakya State Hospital, Hatay-Turkey.
Cihat
C
Yel
Department of Neurosurgery, Turgut Özal University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara-Turkey.
Emre Cemal
EC
Gökçe
Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Ankara-Turkey.
Ali
A
Dalgıç
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001685:Biological Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult
D001685:Biological Factors