Epidemiological profile of spinal cord injuries at a tertiary rehabilitation center in Kuwait

Retrospective, descriptive study.

To describe the epidemiological profile of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Kuwait.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital, Kuwait.

Review of medical records of 241 adult patients with SCI admitted during the period 2010-2015. The data collected included gender, age, etiology, neurological and vertebral level of injury and American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (AIS).

There were 155 (64.3%) traumatic SCI (TSCI) and 86 (35.7%) non-traumatic SCI (NTSCI) patients. In TSCI, the male to female ratio was 4.3:1, and in NTSCI it was 1.5:1. Road traffic accident was the most common cause of TSCI (52.9%), followed by fall from height (32.9%). Acute disc prolapse was the most common cause of NTSCI (29.1%), followed by degenerative disc disease (26.7%) and tumors (17.4%). Paraplegia (41.3%) was more common in TSCI, the level of injury being thoracic in 61% of cases. Cauda equina syndrome was the most common presentation in NTSCI (40.7%).

Road traffic accident was found to be the main cause of TSCI in Kuwait, whereas acute and degenerative disc lesions were the leading causes in NTSCI. Prevention strategies should be directed toward these causes to reduce the incidence of SCI in Kuwait.