Epidemiology of traumatic spinal cord injury in Finland

Spinal Cord, 2021 · DOI: 10.1038/s41393-020-00575-4 · Published: November 4, 2020

Simple Explanation

Traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI) often lead to widespread functional impairment due to sensory and motor innervation loss of limbs and body. The acute care, subacute rehabilitation, and life-long follow-up of patients with SCI were centralized into three university hospitals situated in Helsinki, Oulu and Tampere in May 2011 This study aimed to determine the incidence of TSCI and describe its characteristics in terms of etiology, age, injury level, completeness of injury, and also the functional outcome.

Study Duration

4 years

Participants

346 new patients with traumatic SCI

Evidence Level

Prospective cohort study

Key Findings

1
The mean annual incidence of TSCI patients in the Oulu UH’s and Tampere UH’s primary referral areas was 36.6 per million
2
The leading cause of injury was a fall (61.7%).
3
Overall, 34.3% of the injuries were related to alcohol, and in 15.1% of the cases alcohol consumption prior to injury was unknown.

Research Summary

In our study, the incidence of TSCI was 36.6 per million person-years, which corresponds to 200 new annual cases in Finland. In the current study, it was highlighted that typically an older person was injured by a low-level fall most often resulting in incomplete tetraplegia. The TSCI incidence was higher during the warm season. Younger patients had a better functional outcome in relation to locomotion compared to the older patients and higher percentage of younger patients were discharged straight to home.

Practical Implications

Prevention strategies

Improved primary prevention strategies are needed targeting alcohol-related injuries.

Fall prevention

Fall prevention strategies for the elderly should be implemented.

Resource Planning

The increasing incidence of TSCI during summer should be considered in hospital resource planning.

Study Limitations

1
The SCI center of Helsinki UH was missing from our study.
2
It is possible that patients who are residents of Tampere UHs’ or Oulu UHs’ primary referral areas but were injured elsewhere are missing from the data.
3
The case coverage is less certain in Turku and Kuopio UHs’ primary referral areas, because the acute care and rehabilitation of those patients may partially have taken place in their own and Helsinki UH’s hospital districts.

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