Spinal cord injuries in Ilorin, Nigeria

Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) usually result from road traffic accidents (RTA), falls, sports and some misadventures. This study was carried out to examine the aetiology of SCI in Ilorin, Nigeria; factors contributory to morbidity and mortality and to suggest measures for reducing them.

Age, sex, mechanism of injury, complications, duration of treatment and eventual outcome of patients admitted for SCI from 1995 to 1999 were restrospectively studied.

Thirty-nine patients, age 19 to 60 years (mean 37.3), 36 males and three females were seen. Cervical spine injuries accounted for 46.2% of the cases. Road traffic accidents caused 67% and falls 23%. Accidents involving passengers in open lorries are associated with SCI when the goods fall on passengers as seen in five of the 26 RTA's (19.2%). More falls from kola-nut (44%) than from palm tree (11%) were observed. Limb paralysis and bladder dysfunction were the commonest complications. Ten patients died, 70% of them had cervical spine injuries. Nine of the ten deaths had multiple transfers to different centres before admission.

This pattern of SCI in Ilorin, Nigeria showed that RTA has surpassed falls from trees, as the most common cause of SCI in Ilorin and probably in Nigeria. Indeed, the predominant tree implicated in this study has been kola nut tree unlike the palm tree in earlier reports. Imperative measures to improve morbidity and mortality include health education on passenger and load carriage, use of manual or motorised wheel barrow as against bearing heavy load on the head, principles of moving spinal Injured patients taught every road traveller and establishment of spinal centres and training of specialised personnel.