Epidemiology of Pediatric Traumatic and Acquired Nontraumatic Spinal Cord Injury in Ireland

Abstract

To examine the epidemiology of pediatric traumatic (TSCI) and acquired nontraumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI) in Ireland. There are few studies reporting pediatric TSCI incidence and fewer of pediatric NTSCI incidence, although there are several case reports. As there is a single specialist rehabilitation facility for these children, complete population-level data can be obtained. Retrospective review of prospectively gathered data in the Patient Administration System of the National Rehabilitation Hospital of patients age 15 years or younger at the time of SCI onset. Information was retrieved on gender, age, etiology, level of injury/AIS. Population denominator was census results from 1996, 2002, 2006, and 2011, rolled forward. Since 2000, 22 children have sustained TSCI and 26 have sustained NTSCI. Median (IQR) age at TSCI onset was 6.3 (4.4) years, and at NTSCI onset it was 7.3 (8.1) years. Most common TSCI etiology was transportation ( = 10; 45.5%), followed by surgical complications ( = 8; 36.4%); most common injury type was complete paraplegia ( = 12; 54.5%) followed by incomplete paraplegia ( = 5; 22.7%). Most common NTSCI etiology was transverse myelitis ( = 11; 42.3%) followed by vascular ( = 5; 20%); most common injury type was incomplete paraplegia ( = 17; 65.4%) followed by incomplete tetraplegia ( = 6; 24%). Incidence of TSCI ranged from 0 to 3.1 per million per year; incidence of NTSCI ranged from 0 to 6.5 per million per year. Incidence of SCI in Ireland seems similar to or slightly lower than other developed countries. Injury patterns are also similar, considering variations in reporting methods.

Characteristics of Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury in South Korea: A Single-Centered Study

“…In those aged 10-19 years, neoplasm (n=13) was the most common cause. In pediatric NTSCI studies conducted in the United Kingdom Ireland, and Australia, transverse myelitis and neoplasm were the major causes of pediatric NTSCIs [20][21][22]. Meningomyelocele was a common congenital cause.…”

Epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in Nepal: A systematic review

“…29 Other findings related to etiology do not vary much from earlier studies. [30][31][32][33] Road traffic accident is the second highest etiology in many reports (composite mean as 17%), the highest in one reviewed study 15 and there is an increase in SCI caused by RTA in recent years by 8.3% (15% SCI patients due to RTA in the studies before 2017 compared to 23.3% SCI patients due to RTA in the studies in and after 2017); but it might not be enough to generalize that ranking of RTA etiology in Nepal will stand at the top, as reported in the studies from developed countries. 8,28,34,35 However, the figure amply demands appropriate measures to reduce RTA.…”

Animal models of compression spinal cord injury

“…The most common age brackets that experience NTSCI are the very young and the elderly (Smith et al, 2017(Smith et al, , 2022. While SCI in children represents <12% of all SCI globally, in Australia, 66% of SCI in children are due to a nontraumatic cause (Galvin et al, 2013;Smith et al, 2017). This is important as children with NTSCI have a high morbidity rate, including motor deficits and lower quality of life when compared to other illnesses (Stettler et al, 2013).…”

“…In the adult population, a substantial proportion of SCI is due to traumatic causes such as motor‐related injury, sporting accidents, falls, or violence, while a smaller yet growing proportion (incidence of 26.3 cases per million) of spinal damage is due to nontraumatic causes (Müller‐Jensen et al, 2021; New, 2019; New et al, 2014; WHO, 2013). There are also significant age‐related differences in the causes of SCI, with the young and the elderly more likely to have a higher proportion of nontraumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI) (Smith et al, 2017).…”