• Yadu Nath Baral, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Sushila Baral, Srijana Paudel, Yoveen Yadav, Subash Gurung, Kathit Raj Ghimire, Jhapindra Pokharel, and Ashim Gurung.
• Department of Orthopaedics, Pokhara Academy of Medical Sciences, Western Regional Hospital, Gandaki province, Kaski, Nepal.
• JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc. 2024 May 31; 62 (274): 397400397-400.

IntroductionSpinal cord injury is one of the common injury which causes damage to the spinal cord due to trauma, diseases or degenerations leading to disability and decreasing life expectancy. The study aims to find the characteristics of spinal cord injury presenting at a tertiary care centre.MethodsA Descriptive hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at Pokhara, Gandaki Province, from 28th March to 25th September, 2023. 139 participants were interviewed for the study. Structured interview schedule and validated questionnaires were used for data collection. Ethical approval was taken for the study (Reference number: 151/079).ResultsA total of 139 cases were observed; most common affected age group was between 25-55 years with a mean age of 48.68 years. Most (66.9%) of the spinal cord injury patients were not enrolled in health insurance program. Most 107 (77.0%) common cause for spinal cord injury was falls from height. Age, gender, occupation and duration of stay in the hospital were statistically significant with mode of treatment.ConclusionsSpinal cord injury mostly traumatic commonly due to fall from height affecting mainly male population residing in rural areas at their fourth decade of life who are mainly involve in manual work and agriculture. Spinal cord injury is a major health problem at global and local level causing major morbidity.

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