The changing epidemiology of traumatic spine injuries: a trends analysis of 26 years of patients at a major level 1 trauma center in the United States.
Anthony K ChiuTyler J PeaseHans PrakashBrittany A OsterRyan A SmithMario SahlaniAmit S RatanpalIdris AminThomas M ScaleaLouis J BivonaJulio J JaureguiDaniel L CavanaughEugene Y KohSteven C LudwigPublished in: The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society (2024)
At our institution, the average spine trauma patient has trended toward older females. Falls represent an increasing proportion of the mechanism of injury, on a trajectory to become the most common cause. With time, there have been fewer spinal cord injuries and a lower proportion of complete injuries. At discharge, there has been a surge in the utilization of subacute rehabilitation facilities. Overall, there has been no significant change in injury severity, rate of operative intervention, length of stay, or mortality.