@article{ref1,
title="Traumatic spinal injuries in Saudi Arabia: a retrospective single-centre medical record review",
journal="BMJ open",
year="2020",
author="Alawad, Mohammad O. and Alenezi, Nasser and Alrashedan, Bander S. and Alsabieh, Mohammed and Alnasser, Abdulrahman and Abdulkader, Rizwan Suliankatchi and Surur, Saad",
volume="10",
number="11",
pages="e039768-e039768",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: To describe the patterns and outcomes of traumatic spinal injuries (TSIs) in a tertiary care trauma centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.   DESIGN: Retrospective medical record review.   SETTING: Level 1 trauma centre for all patients presented from 1 February 2016 to 31 December 2018.   PARTICIPANTS AND DATA: Records of patients presenting with any spinal trauma were reviewed, and the data obtained included age, gender, nationality (as Saudi and non-Saudi), date of presentation, site of fracture/injury, associated injuries, mechanism of injury, presence of neurological involvement and hospital mortality.   MAIN OUTCOMES: Frequencies of different types of TSI across various subgroups.   RESULTS: We identified 692 patients who presented with TSI throughout the study period. The mean age was 36.9 years. Males represented 83.2% (n=576) of the sample size, and the most common mechanism of injury was motor vehicle collision (MVC), accounting for 66.8% of cases (n=462), while fall-related injuries were seen in 31.6% of cases (n=219). A total of 454 (65.6%) of all patients were Saudi, and 332 (73.1%) of the TSIs in Saudis were due to MVC. Non-Saudi cases accounted for 238 (34.4%) of all patients, and 89 (37.4%) of the non-Saudi injuries were due to falls from height, and this association was statistically significant (p<0.001).   CONCLUSION: TSI was not thoroughly examined in Saudi Arabia; therefore, this study is considered the first to be done in the Kingdom using a representative sample. The fact that non-Saudi patients had a higher proportion of falls as a mechanism of injury should be taken into consideration in terms of raising awareness and taking more safety precautions, as most construction workers tend to be expatriates.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2044-6055",
doi="10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039768",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039768"
}