@article{ref1,
title="Paediatric spine injuries in the thoracic and lumbar spine-results of the German multicentre CHILDSPINE study",
journal="European spine journal",
year="2023",
author="Herren, Christian and Jarvers, Jan-Sven and Jung, Matthias K. and Blume, Christian and Meinig, Holger and Ruf, Michael and Weiß, Thomas and Rüther, Hauke and Welk, Thomas and Badke, Andreas and Gonschorek, Oliver and Heyde, Christoph E. and Kandziora, Frank and Knop, Christian and Kobbe, Philipp and Scholz, Matti and Siekmann, Holger and Spiegl, Ulrich and Strohm, Peter and Strüwind, Christoph and Matschke, Stefan and Disch, Alexander C. and Kreinest, Michael",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Paediatric thoracolumbar spine injuries are rare, and meaningful epidemiological data are lacking. <br><br>OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to provide epidemiological data for paediatric patients with thoracolumbar spinal trauma in Germany with a view to enhancing future decision-making in relation to the diagnostics and treatment of these patients. <br><br>MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective multicentre study includes patients up to 16 years of age who were suffering from thoracolumbar spine injuries who had been treated in six German spine centres between 01/2010 and 12/2016. The clinical database was analysed for patient-specific data, trauma mechanisms, level of injury, and any accompanying injuries. Diagnostic imaging and subsequent treatment were investigated. Patients were divided into three age groups for further evaluation: age group I (0-6 years), age group II (7-9 years) and age group III (10-16 years). <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 153 children with 345 thoracolumbar spine injuries met the inclusion criteria. The mean age at the time of hospitalization due to the injury was 12.9 (± 3.1) years. Boys were likelier to be affected (1:1.3). In all age groups, falls and traffic accidents were the most common causes of thoracolumbar spine injuries. A total of 95 patients (62.1%) were treated conservatively, while 58 (37.9%) of the children underwent surgical treatment. Minimally invasive procedures were the most chosen procedures. Older children and adolescents were likelier to suffer from higher-grade injuries according to the AOSpine classification. The thoracolumbar junction (T11 to L2) was the most affected level along the thoracolumbar spine (n = 90). Neurological deficits were rarely seen in all age groups. Besides extremity injuries (n = 52, 30.2%), head injuries represented the most common accompanying injuries (n = 53, 30.8%). Regarding spinal injuries, most of the patients showed no evidence of complications during their hospital stay (96.7%). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The thoracolumbar junction was more frequently affected in older children and adolescents. The majority of thoracolumbar spinal column injuries were treated conservatively. Nevertheless, 37.9% of hospitalized children had to be treated surgically, and there was an acceptable complication rate for the surgeries that were performed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0940-6719",
doi="10.1007/s00586-023-07822-1",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00586-023-07822-1"
}