Lan C, Lai J S, Chang K H, Jean Y C, Lien I N
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University, Hospital No 1, Taipei, Republic of China.
Paraplegia. 1993 Jun;31(6):398-403. doi: 10.1038/sc.1993.66.
In order to survey the epidemiological characteristics of traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) in Hualien county, a retrospective study was conducted from January 1986 to December 1990 in four local general hospitals. During this period, 135 traumatic SCI patients were identified and 99 of them were residents of Hualien county. The estimated annual incidence of traumatic SCI in Hualien county was 56.1 per million population. As a result of injury 36 patients were tetraparetic, 33 tetraplegic, 12 paraparetic and 18 paraplegic. The male/female ratio was 4:1. The mean age of onset for male patients was 44 years, and that for female patients was 46 years. The major causes of SCI were traffic accident (61.6%) followed by accidental falls (23.3%). The average duration of hospitalisation ranged from 62 days in paraparetics to 132 days in tetraplegics. Ten patients died of respiratory failure or sepsis, and the mortality rate was 10.1%. Our data revealed that traumatic SCI was prevalent in Hualien county in comparison with epidemiological studies elsewhere. The special population composition of Hualien county and the preponderance of the motorcycle as a transportation vehicle in this area might result in its unique epidemiological characteristics.
为了调查花莲县创伤性脊髓损伤（SCI）的流行病学特征，于1986年1月至1990年12月在当地四家综合医院进行了一项回顾性研究。在此期间，共识别出135例创伤性SCI患者，其中99例为花莲县居民。花莲县创伤性SCI的估计年发病率为每百万人口56.1例。受伤后，36例患者出现四肢轻瘫，33例四肢瘫痪，12例截瘫轻瘫，18例截瘫。男女比例为4:1。男性患者的平均发病年龄为44岁，女性患者为46岁。SCI的主要原因是交通事故（61.6%），其次是意外跌倒（23.3%）。住院时间平均从截瘫轻瘫患者的62天到四肢瘫痪患者的132天不等。10例患者死于呼吸衰竭或败血症，死亡率为10.1%。我们的数据显示，与其他地方的流行病学研究相比，创伤性SCI在花莲县较为普遍。花莲县特殊的人口构成以及该地区摩托车作为交通工具的优势可能导致其独特的流行病学特征。
