[Traumatic spinal cord injury in children and adolescents in Asturias]

Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) is rare in childhood, but it has serious complications.

To assess incidence, causes and socio-demographic aspects of TSCI among children and adolescents in Asturias.

It was made a census of children among aged 0-17 years codified as 'TSCI with or without vertebral fracture' in Asturias between 1934 and 2013. Socio-demographic, hospital and clinical variables were picked up.

In total 72 patients were registered, most of them males (79.2%), with an average age of 16 (range: 5-17). The estimated incidence in 2011 was found to be 7.3/million children/year for children aged 0-17 years. Complete TSCIs (68.1%) and dorsal localization (44.4%) were found to be more common. There was bone injury in 95.8% with two or more vertebras affected in a half of the cases. The main cause was traffic accidents (52.1%) mainly the four wheels vehicles (63.4%), most of them males with an average age of 17 and dorsal localization (46.3%). On second and third place were work-related injuries and sports-related injuries, with the same number of cases. In work related injuries, males were the majority, with dorsal level (77.8%) and the direct blow was the fundamental mechanism. In sports there were males also the dominant, being diving the most important cause, with cervical level.

It is necessary to carry out studies focused on this population group in order to indentify the own characteristics, to establish care and preventive programs, adapted to their necessities.