The neurological outcome of spinal cord injured victims of the Bam earthquake, Kerman, Iran

Abstract

Car accidents and gun-shot injuries are the most common causes of spinal cord injury. Five percent of those patients who have a complete spinal cord injury will experience improvement, to some extent. The lack of specific data in the literature regarding the outcome of earthquake related spinal cord injury justified us to design this study where we evaluated the neurological outcome and related factors of SCI in the Bam earthquake. We retrospectively evaluated the neurological outcome of patients with spinal cord injury who survived the Bam earthquake. In this study all patients with spinal cord injury that resulted from the Bam earthquake who registered in the Welfare Organization of Kerman were studied. The neurological conditions of patients eighteen months after the earthquake were compared with their neurological conditions at the time of the earthquake. A total of 17 (23.9%) patients with grade A impairment based on ASIA impairment Scale (AIS) at the time of the earthquake had significant neurological recovery. In addition, younger patients had better neurological outcomes. Those who had fracture dislocations had a worse outcome. Spinal cord injuries that are due to earthquakes have a better neurological outcome in comparison with other causes of this injury. The patients' ages and types of spinal fractures were significantly related to the neurological outcome.