Traumatic spinal cord injuries in Thailand: an epidemiologic study in Siriraj Hospital, 1989-1994

The records of 219 patients with spinal cord injuries admitted to the Siriraj Hospital. Bangkok from January to December 1994 were reviewed retrospectively. The average patient age was 32.8 years (range = 12-75 years); the male/female ratio was 5.6:1. The most common cause of injury was road traffic accident (50.7%), followed by falls (31%), assault (8.7%) and being hit by moving objects (7.8%). As a result of the injury, 52 (23.7%) patients were tetraplegic, 58 (26.5%) were tetrapapetic, 63 (28.8%) were paraplegic and 46 (21.0%) were paraparetic. The mortality rate was 16%. The leading cause of death was a respiratory complication, accounting for 89% of the total deaths.