Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2016 Jan;40(1):155-9.
doi: 10.1007/s00264-015-2798-3. Epub 2015 May 23.

Patients with thoracic trauma and concomitant spinal cord injury have a markedly decreased mortality rate compared to patients without spinal cord injury

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Patients with thoracic trauma and concomitant spinal cord injury have a markedly decreased mortality rate compared to patients without spinal cord injury

Maren Bertling et al. Int Orthop. 2016 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: The present study was performed to compare the clinical outcome, with special focus on the mortality rate of thoracic injuries, in patients with and without spinal cord injury.

Materials and methods: Patients who were treated for thoracic trauma at our institution between January 1998 and December 2007 were included in this retrospective cohort study. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they had suffered a concomitant spinal cord injury (SCI) (N = 54) or not (N = 61). Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier function and the Cox proportional hazards model. Age, sex, injury severity score (ISS), Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), and infection with pneumonia were included as covariates in the final model.

Results: Patients with SCI have a 65 % reduction in the chance of dying compared to patients without SCI following thoracic trauma (HR = 0.35; 95%CI = 0.13-0.96; p = 0.041). Sex (HR = 0.67; 95 % CI: 0.26-1.71, P = 0.141), ISS > =25 (HR = 2.08 95 % CI: 0.58-7.49, P = 2.63) and a Charlson Comorbidity Index of 2 (HR = 1.82; 95 % CI: 0.58-7.22, P = 0.393) had no effect in the risk of dying. However, patients older than 60 years had four times the chance of dying than patients younger than 30 years (HR = 4.39; 95 % CI: 1.02-19, P = 0.048). Patients with pneumonia had a nonsignificant twofold increase in the risk of dying (HR = 2.28; 95 % CI: 0.97-5.34, P = 0.059).

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that patients with thoracic trauma and concomitant SCI had markedly decreased mortality compared to patients without SCI, even after adjusting for age, sex, injury severity, comorbidities and pneumonia infection.

Keywords: Death; Inflammation; Mortality; Spinal cord injury; Thoracic trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

References

    1. Ann Adv Automot Med. 2010;54:41-50 - PubMed
    1. Injury. 2012 Sep;43(9):1507-12 - PubMed
    1. Shock. 2003 Jun;19(6):519-25 - PubMed
    1. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2009 Sep;9(3):450-3 - PubMed
    1. JAMA. 2012 Jun 20;307(23):2526-33 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources