Characteristics of Spinal Cord Injury Presenting to Tertiary Care Center in Gandaki Province of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

TL;DR

This study describes spinal cord injury characteristics in Nepal, showing it mainly affects working-age males in rural areas due to falls.

Contribution

The study provides new local data on spinal cord injury demographics and causes in Gandaki Province, Nepal.

Findings

Most patients were between 25-55 years old with a mean age of 48.68 years.

76.97% of injuries were caused by falls from height.

Male rural residents in manual occupations were most affected.

Abstract

Spinal cord injury is one of the common injury which causes damage to the spinal cord due to trauma, diseases or degenerations leading to disability and decreasing life expectancy. The study aims to find the characteristics of spinal cord injury presenting at a tertiary care centre.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Pokhara, Gandaki Province, from 28th March to 25th September, 2023. 139 participants were interviewed for the study. Structured interview schedule and validated questionnaires were used for data collection. Ethical approval was taken for the study (Reference number: 151/079).

A total of 139 cases were observed; most common affected age group was between 25-55 years with a mean age of 48.68 years. Most 93 (66.91%) of the spinal cord injury patients were not enrolled in health insurance program. Most 107 (76.97%) common cause for spinal cord injury was falls from height. Age, gender, occupation and duration of stay in the hospital were statistically significant with mode of treatment.

Spinal cord injury mostly traumatic commonly due to fall from height affecting mainly male population residing in rural areas at their fourth decade of life who are mainly involve in manual work and agriculture. Spinal cord injury is a major health problem at global and local level causing major morbidity.