[Epidemiology of cervical spine injuries in National teaching hospital Hubert K. Maga of Cotonou].

INTRODUCTION

Trauma to the cervical spine is a real public health problem. They can cause neurological complications that are sometimes irreversible and mortality remains high. The causes are dominated by traffic and work accidents. We assess their epidemiological and lesional aspects in our work environment.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: This was a descriptive retrospective study of any cervical spine trauma patient admitted to the National teaching hospital Hubert Koutoukou Maga of Cotonou between January 2010 and June 2014 for which the clinical file was complete.

RESULTS

57 files were retained. The average age was 38.7 years (19 - 71 years). The predominance was male with a sex ratio of 4.2. The mean admission time was 27.5 days (3 hours - 175 days). As aetiologies, we found: traffic accidents (41 cases or 71.9%), work accidents (13 cases or 22.9%) and domestic accidents (3 cases or 5.3%). From an anatomopathological point of view, there were 16 simple fractures, one compression fracture, 13 dislocation fractures, 15 pure dislocations, 5 sprains, 2 post-traumatic disc herniations and 5 decompensations of cervicarthrosis myelopathy. The lesions involved the upper cervical spine (7%), the lower cervical spine (71.9%), the upper and lower cervical spine (21.1%). Thirty-two patients (56.1%) were quadriplegic and autonomic disorders were present in 7 patients (12.3%).

CONCLUSION

Cervical spine trauma is frequent in Cotonou. They are often of interest to the young male subject. The lesions predominate on the lower cervical spine.