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[Injuries of the thoracic vertebrae in head-first dive into water]
N Schwarz1, E Sim, K Nestinger
1Unfallkrankenhaus Klagenfurt, 9021 Klagenfurt, Osterreich. nikolaus.schwarz@auva.sozvers.at
Der Unfallchirurg
|May 19, 2001
Abstract:
116 patients with cervical spine injuries due to water sport accidents treated in eight Austrian institutions from 1991 to 1998 were reviewed retrospectively. There were 93% male, 72% were 15 to 29 years of age. 93% had injuries from diving into swimming pools or into open water. At discharge 58 patients had Frankel A lesions, 39 had incomplete cord lesions Frankel B to D, and 19 patients had no neurological injury. This data suggest that in Austria approximately one person per one million inhabitants per year sustains a spinal cord injury in a diving accident in shallow water.