AB222. SOH25_AB_352. Rising trends in spinal cord injuries among trauma patients: a retrospective analysis to inform future service needs at a national trauma center
Orthopaedic Posters

AB222. SOH25_AB_352. Rising trends in spinal cord injuries among trauma patients: a retrospective analysis to inform future service needs at a national trauma center

Conor Kennedy1, Rohan Tewari2, Jake McDonnell2, Kevin Clesham2, Stacey Darwish2, Joseph Butler2

1National Spinal Injuries Unit, Department of Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery, Mater Misericordiae University, Phibsborough, Dublin, Ireland; 2National Spinal Injuries Unit Research Group, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Phibsborough, Dublin,Ireland

Background: In recent decades, a concerning rise in spinal cord injuries (SCIs) has paralleled increased trauma-related admissions. This trend presents significant challenges to healthcare systems, requiring efficient management of acute medical needs and the associated economic impact. The objectives of this study were to review SCI admissions at a national tertiary center across all spinal pathologies, and perform a cost projection analysis to support formal resource planning.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on trauma patients with SCI who were admitted to the National Spinal Injuries Unit at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital from 2017 to 2019. Patient demographics, clinical features, and length of stay (LOS) were recorded and analyzed annually.

Results: The study included 148 patients, with 108 males (73%) and 40 females (27%). Notable trends included an annual increase in the proportion of American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade A cases, a decrease in the average age of patients, and an increase in average LOS. Increases were also observed in ASIA Grade D patients, who showed rising average age and LOS. There was a general trend of increasing average LOS over the three years for all patients.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that trauma patients are requiring longer hospital stays, in a high cost setting. A higher proportion of cases now involves ASIA Grades A and D, with the most severe forms of SCI occurring in younger individuals. These trends suggest that enhanced resource planning is essential to manage the needs of trauma patients, particularly those with the most complex and severe injuries.

Keywords: Economic impact; trauma care; spinal cord injury (SCI); spinal surgery; retrospective review

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-25-ab222
Cite this abstract as: Kennedy C, Tewari R, McDonnell J, Clesham K, Darwish S, Butler J. AB222. SOH25_AB_352. Rising trends in spinal cord injuries among trauma patients: a retrospective analysis to inform future service needs at a national trauma center. Mesentery Peritoneum 2025;9:AB222.

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