The Distribution of Spinal Cord Injury Severity Across Age and Injury Location in Frontal Impact Automobile Collisions

Automobile collisions are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) worldwide, accounting for about 42% of SCIs in the United States alone (McDonald & Sadowsky, 2002; Roberts et al., 2017). The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies road traffic injuries as the leading cause of death for individuals aged 5-29 years, emphasizing the urgent need for effective prevention strategies (World Health Organization, 2023). The primary aim of this study was to identify differences in spinal column injury severity and location (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) across multiple age groups to identify any discrepancies or similarities. A total of 302 traffic accidents with spinal cord injuries from the NASS CDS database spanning the years 2012 - 2015 were included in this analysis with ages ranging from 4 – 90 years old. Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) were both used as measures of injury severity. Cervical spine injuries were most common among all age groups with younger age groups sustaining more lumbar and thoracic injuries compared to elderly age groups. Additionally, 70.27% of those in the youngest age group sustained only a minor spinal cord injury whereas only 53.49% of the eldest population sustained a minor injury. Furthermore, the eldest population had a higher incidence of severe or fatal injury than the youngest population (9.3% compared to 4.1%). These findings provide implications that will serve as the foundation for further studies that wish to investigate how these relationships impact different age populations, vehicle design, and vehicle safety.