THE EVALUATION OF PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE LEVEL SPINAL FRACTURES ADMITTED TO A SINGLE INSTITUTION: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Year 2017, Volume: 4 Issue: 3, 51 - 55, 01.10.2017

Nur Gülce İşkan , Ece Şenyiğit , Begüm Söyleyici , Mert Çiftdemir

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the data of the patients who are diagnosed with multiple level spinal fractures
and to find out the most common level of fractures. Furthermore, this data will be examined regarding patients’
age, gender, fracture type, cause of the injury, and type of the treatment in order to get a baseline data to improve
future outcomes.

Methods: The data of 42 patients who were diagnosed with multiple spinal fractures in Trakya University Faculty
of Medicine Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology in between 2012 and 2017 was analyzed retrospectively.
In order to understand the incidence of multiple spinal fractures in both genders, type of the treatment and cause of
the injury, descriptive analysis as arithmetic mean ± standard deviation, number and percentages, median (mini¬-
mum-maximum) were used.

Results: There were 42 patients including 32 (76.2%) men and 10 (23.8%) women with a mean age of 41 years.
The most common level of injury was T12 (17.5%). The incidence of T11-L1 fractures is 62.1%. 20 (47.6%) of the
fractures were caused by motor vehicle accidents. 26 patients were treated surgically and 13 patients had conservative
treatment.

Conclusion: Multiple level spinal fracture is a very important clinical problem. It is seen mostly in men and
middle-aged population. Thoracolumbar transition (T11-L2) is the most affected region due to the biomechanics
of vertebral column. The most common causes of the multiple spinal fractures are motor vehicle accidents and falls.
Management of multiple level spinal fractures are based on surgical or conservative treatment modalities. Choosing
the correct treatment option for a patient with multiple level spinal fractures depends on several factors. 

Keywords

Spinal fractures, retrospective study, traffic accidents

References

• 1. Tambe A, Cole A. Spinal fractures in adults. Surgery Journal 2012;30:333.
• 2. Krucoff M, Rahimpour S, Slutzky M et al. Enhancing nervous system recovery through neurobiologics, neural interface training, and neurorehabilitation. Front Neurosci 2016;10:584.
• 3. Berk H. Sırt-bel omur kırıkları. Türk Ortopedi ve Travmatolojisi Derneği Dergisi 2008;7:1-2.
• 4. Çiftdemir M. Thoracolumbar Fractures. Journal of Turkish Spinal Surgery 2008;19(1):55-64.
• 5. Kaji A, Hockberger RS. Evaluation of thoracic and lumbar spinal column injury. (cited: 2017 Oct 11) Available from: URL: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/ evaluation-of-thoracic-and-lumbar-spinal-column-injury.
• 6. Akalın S. Minimal invasive techniques in patologic fractures: vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. Journal of Turkish Spinal Surgery 2008;19(2):141-52.
• 7. Magerl F, Aebi M, Gertzbein SD et al. A comprehensive classification of thoracic and lumber injuries. Eur Spine J 1994;3:184-201.
• 8. Yıllara gore sürücü sayısı. (cited: 2017 Oct 15) Ava ilable from: URL: http://www.trafik.org.tr/istatistikler/ yillara-gore-surucu-sayisi.
• 9. Gonschorek O, Hauck S, Weiß T et al. Fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine. Chirurg 2015;86(9):901-14.
• 10. İşkan NG, Kurt C, Akşar A et al. The evaluation and interpretation of the most common intervertebral discs in cervical hernias: a retrospective study. Turkish Med Stud J 2016;3(1):1-3.
• 11. Winters BA, Nuttall C. Evaluation and mana gement of spinal column fractures in adults. JNP 2015;11(10):1043-7.
• 12. Kaufman RP, Ching RP, Willis MM et al. Burst fra ctures of the lumbar spine in frontal crashes. Accident Analysis and Prevention 2013;59:153-63.