Incidence and aetiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in Cape Town, South Africa: a prospective, population-based study
| dc.contributor.author | Conran, Joseph | |
| dc.contributor.author | Delcarme, A. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Vlok, I. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Wahman, K. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Phillips, Julie | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-05-23T08:27:25Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-05-23T08:27:25Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2015 | |
| dc.description.abstract | STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, regional population-based study. Objectives: To provide the incidence, aetiology and injury characteristics of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. SETTING: All government-funded hospitals within the City of Cape Town, South Africa. METHODS: All survivors of acute TSCI, given that they met the inclusion criteria, were prospectively included for a 1-year period. The International Spinal Cord Injury Core Data Set was used and systematically completed by specialist doctors. Further, international standards for neurological classification were adhered to. RESULTS: In total, 147 cases of acute TSCI were identified and 145 were included in the study. The male to female ratio was 5.9:1 and the mean age was 33.5 years, ranging from 18 to 93. The crude incidence rate was 75.6 per million (95% CI: 64.3–88.8) with assault as the main cause of injury, accounting for 59.3% of the cases, followed by motor vehicle accidents (26.3%) and falls (11.7%). Most injuries occurred in the cervical spine (53.1%), and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A severity was most common (39.3%) in the cohort. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of TSCI in a region of South Africa was high when compared to previously postulated figures for the country. There is a need for primary preventative strategies to target younger men that are exposed to violent activities. A national study is required to learn whether these findings are only locally applicable or generalisable. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Joseph, C. et al. (2015). Incidence and aetiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in Cape Town, South Africa: a prospective, population-based study. Spinal Cord, 53(9): 692-6 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.issn | 1362-4393 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10566/2873 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sc.2015.51 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.privacy.showsubmitter | FALSE | |
| dc.publisher | Nature Publishing Group | en_US |
| dc.rights | This is the author-version of the article published online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sc.2015.51 | |
| dc.status.ispeerreviewed | TRUE | |
| dc.subject | Incidence and aetiology | en_US |
| dc.subject | Traumatic spinal cord injury | en_US |
| dc.subject | South Africa | en_US |
| dc.subject | Prospective | en_US |
| dc.subject | Population-based | en_US |
| dc.title | Incidence and aetiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in Cape Town, South Africa: a prospective, population-based study | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |