Analysis and epidemiologic characteristics of 106 patients with cervical vertebral fracture caused by traffic injury

Objectives Through investigating the epidemiology characteristics and injury mechanisms of cervical frature caused by traffi c accidents, to guide clinicians better diagnosis and treatment with cervical injury.

Methods Car accident injury patients were selected from the 287 hospital with cervical fractures between January 2009 and November 2010. Through extracted their cases and imaging data retrospectively, all the patients' age, gender, possible injury mechanisms, injury segment, fracture type, neurological condition and treatment after admission were analyzed and discussed. To summarize the susceptible group of cervical fracture, sensitive segment, common type of frature, as well as the rule of age, gender, injury mechanism for the type of cervical fracture, segmental, neurological infl uencing. In this study, upper cervical spine fracture contains the anterior arch of atlas types, posterior arch, lateral mass and jefferson fracture, axis odontoid fracture, hangman fractures. However, the fratures of lower cervical spine fracture rely on AO type classifi cation, neurological evaluation depends on Frankel grading standards.

Results Totally 106 traffi c patients with cervical spine fractures were admitted during two years, with mean age of 38 years (15-17 years), male to female ratio of 3.24:1. The age peak of injured persons were in the 20-30 and 40-50 years; including 23 motorized/ electric car drivers or passengers (21.7%), 15 pedestrians or riding bike patients (14.1%), and 68 automobile driver or passenger (64.2%). A total of 71 patients (67%) were with spinal cord injury. Different mechanisms of injury, age factors on spinal cord injury showed no signifi cant relationship and 34 patients (32%) were multi-segment cervical fractures. Cervical spine fracture caused by traffi c accidents usually occurred in the C5 (24.8%) and C2 (17.0%), among these upper cervical spine fracture patients the odontoid fracture is B-type (68/116 cases). Including 62 patients treated conservatively and 44 patients with surgica treatment, the neurological function recovery of petients treated by surgery is superior to that by conservative treatment, besides, the extent of neurological function with the time between injury and surgery is inversely proportional.

Conclusions The cervical spine fractures caused by traffi c accdents results in a high risk of spinal cord injury, and these patients are mostly young crowd, which caused such a high rate of diability. Traffi c injuries in newly diagnosed patients with medical treatment received special attention is required if cervical spine injury, these patients of the fracture in the cervical spine with spinal cord injury having clear surgical ppinter, should be actively and timely arrangements for surgery to increase recovery of nerve function possible. In the area of prevention, increasing motor vehicle and pedestrian road management and protection were without delay.