Factors influencing the indication for tracheostomy following cervical spinal cord injury / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To determine the factors influencing the indication for tracheostomy following cervical spinal cord injury.Methods A retrospective study was performed to analyze the 118 patients who had been treated for cervical fracture/dislocation along with cervical spinal cord injury from July 2004 to June 2014 and whose abbreviated injury scale score (AISS) was lower than 3.They were 96 men and 22 women,19 to 68 years of age (average,45.2 years).The patients were divided into a tracheostomy group (n ＝ 28) and a non-tracheostomy group (n =90).The 2 groups were compared in terms of gender,age,presence or absence of complete spinal cord injury at admission,injured segment,injury mechanism,smoking history,injury severity score (ISS),motor AISS,systolic pressure at admission,hospital stay,and ICU stay to determine the factors influencing allocation of tracheostomy.Results Compared with the non-tracheostomy group,the tracheostomy group had a higher rate of complete spinal cord injury at admission,a higher rate of smoking,a higher ISS at admission,a lower motor AISS,and longer hospital and ICU stay,with statistically significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in gender,age,injured segment,injury mechanism,or systolic pressure at admission (P ＞ 0.05).Increased severity of cervical spinal cord injury was associated with significantly decreased motor AISA,increased rate of tracheostomy and increased ISS (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The influencing factors for indication of tracheostomy after cervical spinal cord injury are complete cervical spinal cord injury irrespective of the level of injury,ISS,motor AISS,and history of smoking.