Author:
Yokogawa Noriaki,Kato Satoshi,Sasagawa Takeshi,Hayashi Hiroyuki,Tsuchiya Hiroyuki,Ando Kei,Nakashima Hiroaki,Segi Naoki,Funayama Toru,Eto Fumihiko,Yamaji Akihiro,Nori Satoshi,Yamane Junichi,Furuya Takeo,Yunde Atsushi,Nakajima Hideaki,Yamada Tomohiro,Hasegawa Tomohiko,Terashima Yoshinori,Hirota Ryosuke,Suzuki Hidenori,Imajo Yasuaki,Ikegami Shota,Uehara Masashi,Tonomura Hitoshi,Sakata Munehiro,Hashimoto Ko,Onoda Yoshito,Kawaguchi Kenichi,Haruta Yohei,Suzuki Nobuyuki,Kato Kenji,Uei Hiroshi,Sawada Hirokatsu,Nakanishi Kazuo,Misaki Kosuke,Terai Hidetomi,Tamai Koji,Shirasawa Eiki,Inoue Gen,Kakutani Kenichiro,Kakiuchi Yuji,Kiyasu Katsuhito,Tominaga Hiroyuki,Tokumoto Hiroto,Iizuka Yoichi,Takasawa Eiji,Akeda Koji,Takegami Norihiko,Funao Haruki,Oshima Yasushi,Kaito Takashi,Sakai Daisuke,Yoshii Toshitaka,Ohba Tetsuro,Otsuki Bungo,Seki Shoji,Miyazaki Masashi,Ishihara Masayuki,Okada Seiji,Imagama Shiro,Watanabe Kota
Abstract
AbstractAlthough traumatic cervical spine injuries in older adults are commonly caused by minor traumas, such as ground-level falls, their prognosis is often unfavorable. Studies examining the clinical characteristics of cervical spine injuries in older adults according to the external cause of injury are lacking. This study included 1512 patients of ≥ 65 years of age with traumatic cervical spine injuries registered in a Japanese nationwide multicenter database. The relationship between the external causes and clinical characteristics, as well as factors causing unfavorable outcomes at the ground-level falls, were retrospectively reviewed and examined. When fall-induced cervical spine injuries were categorized and compared based on fall height, the patients’ backgrounds and injury statuses differed significantly. Of note, patients injured from ground-level falls tended to have poorer pre-injury health conditions, such as medical comorbidities and frailty, compared with those who fell from higher heights. For ground-level falls, the mortality, walking independence, and home-discharge rates at 6 months post-injury were 9%, 67%, and 80%, respectively, with preexisting medical comorbidities and frailty associated with unfavorable outcomes, independent of age or severity of neurological impairment at the time of injury.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
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