Characteristics of Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury in South Korea: A Single-Centered Study

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of pediatric spinal cord injury (SCI) in South Korea from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: This single-centered retrospective study included pediatric SCIs. Individuals were divided into the following five groups according to onset age: ≤5, 6–12, 13–14, 15–17, and 18–19 years. The severity of complete injury was graded according to the American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale A (AIS A). Incomplete injury was graded according to AIS B, C, and D. Pearson chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Of the 267 individuals included, 216 (80.9%) had traumatic SCIs (male-to-female ratio of 3.2:1), and 51 (19.1%) had non-traumatic SCIs (male-to-female ratio of 0.7:1). In the traumatic SCI group, 192 (88.9%) individuals were ≥15 years at the time of injury (males, 78.6%). The most common etiologies of traumatic SCIs, ranging from most to least common, were accidents related to motorcycles, falls, cars, and diving. In the non-traumatic SCI group, inflammatory (33.3%) and neoplastic (25.5%) etiologies were found to be the most common ones. CONCLUSION: We found that traumatic SCIs incidence in the pediatric population was high, particularly in male individuals aged 15–19 years. The non-traumatic SCIs mostly cause paraplegia and incomplete injury. Therefore, it can be used as a basic data for the evaluation, treatment and prevention strategy of pediatric patients with SCI.