Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31881536›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurosurgery. Spine2020

Morbidity after traumatic spinal injury in pediatric and adolescent sports-related trauma.

Saksham Gupta, Blake M Hauser, Mark M Zaki, Edward Xu, David J Cote, Yi Lu, John H Chi, Michael Groff, Ayaz M Khawaja, Mitchel B Harris and 2 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neurosurgery. Spine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. MRI-based pedicle bone quality score: a superior predictor over vertebral bone quality score for pedicle screw loosening following transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Saksham Gupta1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Blake M Hauser1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Mark M Zaki1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Edward Xu1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
David J Cote1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Yi Lu1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
John H Chi1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Michael Groff1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Ayaz M Khawaja1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Mitchel B Harris3Department of Orthopedics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Timothy R Smith1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Hasan A Zaidi1Computational Neurosciences Outcomes Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Brigham and Women's Hospital · USHarvard University · US

Funding

Medical Scientist Training ProgramT32GM007753 · NIGMS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (MEDICAL SCHOOL) · PI WALENSKY, LOREN DAVID · 1985 to 2021
$50.0M
Training Program in Cancer EpidemiologyT32CA009001 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI A. Heather Eliassen, Meir Stampfer · 1985 to 2026
$17.3M
NCI NIH HHS T32 CA009001NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM007753
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveSports injuries present a considerable risk of debilitating spinal injury. Here, the authors sought to profile the epidemiology and clinical risk of traumatic spinal injuries (TSIs) in pediatric sports injuries.

methodsThe authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of pediatric patients who had experienced a sports-related TSI, including spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries, encoded in the National Trauma Data Bank in the period from 2011 to 2014.

resultsIncluded in the analysis were 1723 cases of pediatric sports-related TSI, which represented 3.7% of all pediatric sports-related trauma. The majority of patients with TSI were male (81%), and the median age was 15 years (IQR 13-16 years). TSIs arose most often from cycling accidents (47%) and contact sports (28%). The most frequently fractured regions were the thoracic (30%) and cervical (27%) spine. Among patients with spinal cord involvement (SCI), the cervical spine was involved in 60% of cases.The average length of stay for TSIs was 2 days (IQR 1-5 days), and 32% of the patients required ICU-level care. Relative to other sports-related trauma, TSIs without SCI were associated with an increased adjusted mean length of stay by 1.8 days (95% CI 1.6-2.0 days), as well as the need for ICU-level care (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-1.9). Also relative to other sports-related trauma, TSIs with SCI had an increased length of stay by 2.1 days (95% CI 1.8-2.6 days) and the need for ICU-level care (aOR 3.6, 95% CI 2.6-4.8).TSIs without SCI were associated with discharge to or with rehabilitative services (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.5-2.0), as were TSIs with SCI (aOR 4.0, 95% CI 3.2-4.9), both relative to other sports-related trauma. Among the patients with TSIs, predictors of the need for rehabilitation at discharge were having a laminectomy or fusion, concomitant lower-extremity injury, head injury, and thoracic injury. Although TSIs affected 4% of the study cohort, these injuries were present in 8% of patients discharged to or with rehabilitation services and in 17% of those who died in the hospital.

conclusionsTraumatic sports-related spinal injuries cause significant morbidity in the pediatric population, especially if the spinal cord is involved. The majority of TSI cases arose from cycling and contact sports accidents, underscoring the need for improving education and safety in these activities.

Indexed as

pediatric spinal injuryrehabilitationspinal cord injurysports injurytrauma

Identifiers

PMID31881536
PMCPMC7383358
OpenAlexW2998451646

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.