Epidemiology of Pediatric Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in a Population-Based Cohort, 1998-2012

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) that occurs in children and adolescents who are still developing represents a different challenge than SCI in adults. However, information on the epidemiology and incidence of SCI in a population-based cohort is lacking.

To describe the epidemiology of pediatric SCI in a population-based cohort in the United States and to assess trend in incidence over a 15-year period (1998-2012).

Children and adolescents (0-21 years) with SCI were identified through the South Carolina SCI Surveillance Registry using hospital discharge records from 1998 to 2012. Overall age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated for each year, and incidence rates were stratified by age, gender, and race.

The overall age-adjusted incidence rate was 26.9 per million population, and there was a trend (P = .0583) toward decreasing incidence of pediatric SCI. When stratified by race, there was a significant decrease in incidence among Whites(P = .0052) but not among non-Whites. Younger participants were more likely to be female, to be injured through sports, and to be more likely to have concomitant traumatic brain injury. Since 1998, the proportion of older pediatric patients (16-22 years) with SCI has increased, as has the proportion of non-White patients.

Although there was an overall trend toward decreasing incidence in this population-based cohort, when stratified by race, this trend only occurred in the White population.