Nakae Ryuta, Onda Hidetaka, Yokobori Shoji, Araki Takashi, Fuse Akira, Toda Shigeki, Kushimoto Shigeki, Yokota Hiroyuki, Teramoto Akira
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 2010;50(6):461-5. doi: 10.2176/nmc.50.461.
Patients with degenerative diseases of the cervical spine, such as ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, spondylosis, and canal stenosis, sometimes present with acute spinal cord injury caused by minor trauma. However, the relative risk of cervical cord injury with these diseases is unknown. The clinical and radiological features of 94 elderly patients with head injury, 57 men and 37 women aged from 65 to 98 years (mean 76.6 years), were retrospectively analyzed to assess the association of spinal cord injury with degenerative cervical diseases. Degenerative cervical diseases were present in 25 patients, and spinal cord injury was more common in the patients with degenerative diseases (11/25 patients) than in the patients without such diseases (3/69 patients; relative risk = 10.2). The incidence of degenerative cervical diseases seems to be increasing in Japan because life expectancy has increased and the elderly are a rapidly growing part of the population. A fall while walking or cycling is a common mechanism of head injury and/or cervical cord injury in the elderly. To decrease the occurrence of cervical myelopathy, prevention by increasing social awareness and avoiding traffic accidents and falls is important.
患有颈椎退行性疾病的患者，如后纵韧带骨化、颈椎病和椎管狭窄，有时会因轻微创伤而出现急性脊髓损伤。然而，这些疾病导致颈髓损伤的相对风险尚不清楚。对94例老年颅脑损伤患者（57例男性和37例女性，年龄65至98岁，平均76.6岁）的临床和放射学特征进行回顾性分析，以评估脊髓损伤与颈椎退行性疾病之间的关联。25例患者存在颈椎退行性疾病，脊髓损伤在患有退行性疾病的患者中（11/25例患者）比在无此类疾病的患者中（3/69例患者；相对风险=10.2）更常见。在日本，颈椎退行性疾病的发病率似乎在上升，因为预期寿命增加，老年人在人口中所占比例迅速增长。行走或骑自行车时摔倒，是老年人颅脑损伤和/或颈髓损伤的常见原因。为减少颈椎病的发生，提高社会意识并避免交通事故和摔倒进行预防很重要。
