Acute spinal-cord lesions in a pediatric population: epidemiological and clinical features

The occurrence of acute spinal-cord lesions in children has been reported to be rare, comprising from less than one to 3.3 per cent of all cases of spinal-cord injuries (Audic & Maury, 1969; Burke, 1971; Melzak, 1969). To our knowledge, the epidemiological features of all cases of acute spinal-cord lesions in a pediatric population have not been previously reported. The objective of this communication is, therefore, to describe the incidence and selected epidemiological and clinical features of acute spinal-cord lesions in children, aged 1 to 15 years.