title: Spine Injuries Sustained by U.S. Military Personnel in Combat are Different From Non-Combat Spine Injuries.
abstract: Spine injuries are more prevalent among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans than among veterans of previous conflicts. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the context, mode, and clinical outcomes of spine injuries sustained by U.S. military personnel in theater. Injury and clinical data from patients who sustained a spine injury in Iraq or Afghanistan between 2003 and 2008 were extracted from the Joint Theater Trauma Registry. Fischer's exact test was used to compare demographic variables between battle and nonbattle spine injuries. Two-sided t tests and univariate analyses were performed to analyze the association between injury context, mechanism, and severity with clinical outcome. A total of 307 patients sustained spine injuries in theater during the study period, and 296 had adequate data for analysis. Most injuries occurred in battle (69.6%), and these injuries were more likely to have an Injury Severity Score considered severe (44.7% vs. 20.0%; p < 0.001) or critical (13.6% vs. 5.6%; p = 0.0458). Blast was the most common mechanism of injury (42.2%) and was more likely to be blunt (81.6%) than penetrating (18.4%; p < 0.0001). Battle-associated spine injuries were most commonly caused by blasts, were more severe, and more likely to involve multiple spinal levels.
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814.
authors.forename: Nicholas S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Szuflita
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889.
authors.forename: Chris J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Neal
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889.
authors.forename: Michael K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Rosner
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics, University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030.
authors.forename: Ralph F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Frankowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Houston Methodist Neurological Institute, 6560 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D019563:Mechanics; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000145:classification* / Q000209:etiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology