Sports-related Cervical Spine Fracture and Spinal Cord Injury

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE Assess trends in sports-related cervical spine trauma using a pediatric inpatient database. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Injuries sustained from sports participation may include cervical spine trauma such as fractures and spinal cord injury (SCI). Large database studies analyzing sports-related cervical trauma in the pediatric population are currently lacking. METHODS The Kid Inpatient Database was queried for patients with external causes of injury secondary to sports-related activities from 2003 to 2012. Patients were further grouped for cervical spine injury (CSI) type, including C1-4 and C5-7 fracture with/without spinal cord injury (SCI), dislocation, and SCI without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA). Patients were grouped by age into children (4-9), pre-adolescents (Pre, 10-13), and adolescents (14-17). Kruskall-Wallis tests with post-hoc Mann-Whitney U's identified differences in CSI type across age groups and sport type. Logistic regression found predictors of TBI and specific cervical injuries. RESULTS A total of 38,539 patients were identified (12.76 years, 24.5% F). Adolescents had the highest rate of sports injuries per year (P