Epidemiology of Traumatic Vertebral Fractures; Retrospective Analysis of Patients Underwent Spinal Fusion Surgery

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic spinal fractures are seen frequently and decrease quality of life and also with spinal cord injuries influence the patients’ life socially and financially. The level of the injury and the presence of the neurological deficit are significant in terms of treatment and prognosis.
METHODS: This study is a partial, retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study. The aim of this study to determine the incidence and functionally outcome of the traumatic injuries of the spine who went spinal fusion surgery with instrumentation in the period from period January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2016, at the Neurosurgery Department of Van Yuzuncu Yıl University.
RESULTS: We observed that 71 of the patients were men and 31 were women. The most common causes of traumatic spine fractures were high energy falls 64 (%63) and traffic accidents 38 (%37). The distrubution of the injuries by vertebral segments, there were 19 cervical (%24), 4 thoracolumbar (%3), 30 thoracic (%23), 47 lumbar (%50) fractures. 21 of 102 patients multilevel fractures. The neurological deficits were categorized using ASIA Scale 14 (%14) patients had complete neurological deficit, 10 patients (%10) incomplete neurological deficit, 78 (%76) patients had no neurological deficit.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We can suggest that early stabilization was not also significantly improve the early preop ASIA score but improve the postop 6th Month ASIA score. Lomber region is the most affected location of injury. The cause of this may be falls from height is common this district because of the affected people mostly construction workers and fastening seat belt in traffic accidents.