Traumatic spinal cord injuries in Jordan--an epidemiological study

To survey the situation of traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) in Jordan and for a future nationwide epidemiological survey, a retrospective study was conducted at the Royal Jordanian Rehabilitation Centre (RJRC) King Hussein Medical Centre (KHMC) Amman-Jordan, where all traumatic cases within this centre in addition to a few nontraumatic spinal injury patients are referred to the spinal unit which has a capacity of 30 beds. 151 traumatic SCI patients who were admitted to the spinal unit at RJRC during the period January 1988 to December 1993 were reviewed. The estimated annual incidence was 18 per million population. The majority were predominantly males (85.4%) the male/female ratio was 5.8:1. The mean age at the time of injury was 33 being 30.9 years for males and 34.8 years for females. There were 68% (n = 103) with paraplegia and 32% (n = 48) with tetraplegia (Frankel A-D). The commonest aetiology was motor vehicle accidents (44.4% n = 67), next came bullet injuries (25.8% n = 39), followed by accidental falls (21.2% n = 32). Other causes of SCI, and also the importance of preventive measures are discussed.