ArticleInternational journal of spine surgery2024
Presentation, Management, and Outcomes of Thoracic, Thoracolumbar, and Lumbar Spine Trauma in East Africa: A Cohort Study.
Article in International journal of spine surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Epidemiology of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury among Adults on the African Continent, 2010-2024: A Scoping Review.Spinal cord · 2026Article
- Traumatic Spine Injury in Southern Ethiopia: Falls, Delayed Presentation, and High Early Mortality at a Tertiary Referral Center.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- What drives clinic follow-up after traumatic spinal injury? An observational cohort study from Tanzania.BMJ open · 2025Observational
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTrauma to the thoracic, thoracolumbar (TL), and lumbar spine is common and can cause disability and neurological deficits. Using a cohort of patients suffering from thoracic, TL, and lumbar spine trauma in a tertiary hospital in East Africa, the current study sought to: (1) describe demographics and operative treatment patterns, (2) assess neurologic outcomes, and (3) report predictors associated with undergoing surgery, neurologic improvement, and mortality.
methodsA retrospective cohort study of patient records from September 2016 to December 2020 was conducted at a prominent East Africa referral center. The study collected data on demographics, injury, and operative characteristics. Surgical indications were assessed using the AO (
resultsThe study showed that 64.9% of the 257 TL spine trauma patients underwent surgery with a median postadmission day of 17.0. The mortality rate was 1.2%. Road traffic accidents caused 43.6% of the injuries. The most common fracture pattern was AO Type A fractures (78.6%). Laminectomy and posterolateral fusion were performed in 97.6% of the surgical cases. Patients without neurological deficits (OR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.13-0.54,
conclusionsThis study highlights various themes surrounding the management of TL spine trauma in a low-resource environment, including lower surgery rates, delays from admission to surgery, safe surgery with low mortality, and the potential for surgery to lead to neurologic improvement. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Despite challenges such as surgical delays and limited resources in East Africa, there is potential for surgical intervention to improve neurologic outcomes in thoracic, TL, and lumbar spine trauma patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4:
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