| Popis: |
Objective: To identify the mortality rate and cause of death from traumatic spinal cord injury following transfer to an acute spinal injuries unit. Design: A five year retrospective analysis of mortality in adults admitted with suspected traumatic spinal cord injury to a specialised acute spinal injuries unit. Setting: Spinal Injuries Unit, Austin Hospital, Melbourne. The sole acute adult unit in a catchment area of 5 million people. Patients: Three hundred and ninety-two patients admitted to the unit from 1 January 1988 to 31 December 1992. Results: Twenty-six patients died during their admission (6.6%), they had a mean age of 52.3 years, and death occurred a mean 35.6 days after admission. The common causes of death were pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, and multiple trauma. The highest mortality rate was during the first 24 hours following arrival at the unit. Conclusion: There were no deaths attributable to inadequate stabilisation prior to transfer. Leading causes of death were pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, and multiple-trauma. Comparison with previous studies is difficult due to wide variations in the selected study population. |
