Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37963389›Full record

ArticleGlobal spine journal2025

Timing of Spinal Surgery in Polytrauma: The Relevance of Injury Severity, Injury Level and Associated Injuries.

Jakob Hax, Michel Teuben, Sascha Halvachizadeh, Till Berk, Julian Scherer, Kai Oliver Jensen, Rolf Lefering, Hans-Christoph Pape, Kai Sprengel, TraumaRegister DGU

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Global spine journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Acute management of spinal fractures: What you need to know.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Thoracolumbar spinal cord injury: management, techniques, timing.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2024
    Review
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

10 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Jakob HaxDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-7641-052X
Michel TeubenDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-0310-4668
Sascha HalvachizadehDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-1393-3232
Till BerkDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Julian SchererDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Kai Oliver JensenDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Rolf LeferingInstitute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), Witten/Herdecke University, Cologne, Germany.
Hans-Christoph PapeDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Kai SprengelDepartment of Trauma, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
TraumaRegister DGUCommittee on Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care and Trauma Management (Sektion NIS) of the German Trauma Society (DGU).
University Hospital of Zurich · CHGerman Cardiac Society · DEUniversity of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of Lucerne · CHUniversity of Zurich · CHWitten/Herdecke University · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designRetrospective database analysis.

objectivePolytraumatized patients with spinal injuries require tailor-made treatment plans. Severity of both spinal and concomitant injuries determine timing of spinal surgery. Aim of this study was to evaluate the role of spinal injury localization, severity and concurrent injury patterns on timing of surgery and subsequent outcome.

methodsThe TraumaRegister DGU

results12.596 patients with a mean age of 50.8 years were included. 7.2% of patients had relevant multisegmental spinal injuries. Furthermore, 50% of patients with spine injuries AIS ≥3 had a more severe non-spinal injury to another body part. ICU and hospital stay were superior in patients treated within 48 hrs for lumbar and thoracic spinal injuries. In cervical injuries early intervention (<48 hrs) was associated with increased mortality rates (9.7 vs 6.3%).

conclusionsThe current multicentre study demonstrates that polytrauma patients frequently sustain multiple spinal injuries, and those with an index spine injury may therefore benefit from standardized whole-spine imaging. Moreover, timing of surgical spinal surgery and outcome appear to depend on the severity of concomitant injuries and spinal injury localization. Future prospective studies are needed to identify trauma characteristics that are associated with improved outcome upon early or late spinal surgery.

Indexed as

concomitant injuriesspine injurytiming of surgerytrauma registry

Identifiers

PMID37963389
PMCPMC11877677
OpenAlexW4388662114

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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.