An epidemiological description of spinal cord injuries in The Netherlands in 1994.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective descriptive study.

OBJECTIVES

To ascertain the incidence of spinal cord injury in The Netherlands.

METHODS

From all patients, discharged from a Dutch general hospital in 1994 with the ICD-9 diagnosis code 806 (fracture of the spine with injury of the spinal cord) and 952 (injury to the spinal cord without apparent spinal fracture), a copy of the anonymized medical correspondence was requested. The received correspondence was analyzed for the diagnosis of traumatic spinal cord injury with motor, sensory, bladder and bowel symptoms lasting longer than 2 weeks.

RESULTS

479 cases with the ICD-9 codes 806 or 952 were identified. On 329 cases we received information. According to our criteria 126 cases had a spinal cord injury with persisting symptoms. Of these 126 cases 18 died during hospital stay. Sex (77% male), level (57% tetra), completeness (48.7% complete), age distribution, cause of injury and incidence of stabilizing operation (44.2%) were assessed. Mean hospital stay was 31 days and of the subjects who survived the initial hospital phase, 70% were referred to a rehabilitation centre or a rehabilitation ward.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of spinal cord injury surviving the acute phase in The Netherlands in 1994 was 10.4/million/annum.