trends in traumatic spine and spinal cord injuries in southeast iran: a ten-year single-center study

Background and aim: several studies have been conducted on traumatic spine and spinal cord injuries (sci) in iran. a paucity of them is focused on epidemiological trends. a ten-year single-center retrospective analysis was conducted to demonstrate epidemiological trends of traumatic spinal injuries (tsi). methods and materials/patients: the study was conducted on 1494 spine-injured patients who were admitted to the main referral spine trauma center in southeast in iran between 2013 to 2022. descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine the patient’s demographics, level of injury, leading causes, locations, and management. results: over 10 years, the male-to-female ratio remained consistent at 3.6:1. the mean±sd of the age of patients was 37.5±15.7 years old. the prevalence of sci was 23.2% and the odds of sci increased by 5% over ten years and decreased by 2% with increasing age. the cervical injury (adjusted odds ratio [aor]=2.84), thoracic injury (aor=1.41), and age (aor=0.98) were significantly associated with sci. car accident was the most common (36.2%) leading cause of spine injury and had 12% higher odds of sci over ten years while occupants of pickup trucks, vans, and buses had a 7% decrease in sci. conclusion: this study highlighted that the sci risk increased and car occupants had a higher risk of sci over ten years. therefore, preventive strategies to decrease traumatic spine and spinal cord injuries should be considered.