• Jan-Sven Jarvers, Christian Herren, Matthias K Jung, Christian Blume, Holger Meinig, Michael Ruf, Alexander C Disch, Thomas Weiß, Hauke Rüther, Thomas Welk, Andreas Badke, Oliver Gonschorek, Christoph E Heyde, Frank Kandziora, Christian Knop, Philipp Kobbe, Matti Scholz, Holger Siekmann, Ulrich Spiegl, Peter Strohm, Christoph Strüwind, Stefan Matschke, Michael Kreinest, and Arbeitsgruppe Wirbelsäulentrauma im Kindesalter der Sektion Wirbelsäule der DGOU.
• Klinik für Orthopädie, Unfallchirurgie und Plastische Chirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Leipzig, Leipzig, Deutschland.
• Unfallchirurg. 2020 Apr 1; 123 (4): 280-288.

BackgroundIn general, pediatric spinal injuries are rare. No reliable data on the epidemiology of spinal injuries in pediatric patients in Germany are available. Especially in pediatric patients, for whom the medical history, clinical examination and the performance of imaging diagnostics are difficult to obtain, all available information on a spinal injury must be taken into account.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to provide epidemiological data for pediatric patients with spinal trauma in Germany in order to enhance future decision-making for the diagnostics and treatment of these patients.Material And MethodsWithin the framework of a national multicenter study, data were retrospectively obtained from 6 German spine centers for 7 years between January 2010 and December 2016. In addition to the demographic data, the clinical databases were screened for specific trauma mechanisms, level of injury as well as accompanying injuries. Furthermore, diagnostic imaging and the treatment selected were also analyzed.ResultsA total of 367 children (female: male = 1:1.2) with a total of 610 spinal injuries were included in this study. The mean age was 12 years (±3.5 years). The most frequent trauma mechanisms were falls from <3 m and traffic accidents. The imaging diagnostics were only rarely carried out with the child under anesthesia. Younger children (0-9 years old) suffered more injuries to the cervical spine, whereas injuries to the thoracic and lumbar spine were more frequently found in older children (>10 years old). The children frequently showed accompanying injuries to the head and the extremities. Accompanying spinal injuries mostly occurred in adjacent regions and only rarely in other regions. Around 75% of the children were treated conservatively.ConclusionThe results were different from the knowledge obtained from adult patients with spinal trauma and describe the special circumstances for pediatric patients with spinal trauma. Despite certain limitations these facts may help to enhance future decision-making for the diagnostics and treatment of these patients.

19 keywords...

hide…