Impact of Mechanism of Injury on Long-term Neurological Outcomes of Cervical Sensorimotor Complete Acute Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

OBJECTIVE: Mechanism of injury is a largely understudied descriptor of acute traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI). This study sought to compare the impact of high-energy and low-energy mechanisms of injury in neurological outcomes of cervical sensorimotor complete tSCI. METHODS: Patients with tSCI were identified in 4 prospective, multicenter clinical trials and registries. American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade was assessed ≤ 72 hours postinjury and followed up between 12 to 52 weeks. Patients were included if they had a cervical and sensorimotor complete (AIS–A) injury at baseline. Study outcomes were change in AIS grade and lower extremity motor, upper extremity motor, and total motor scores. Propensity score matching between high-energy mechanisms of injury (HEMI; e.g. , motor vehicle collisions) and low-energy mechanisms of injury (LEMI; e.g. , falls) groups was performed. Adjusted groups were compared with paired t-tests and McNemar test. RESULTS: Of 667 patients eligible for inclusion, 523 experienced HEMI (78.4%). HEMI patients were younger, had lower body mass index, more associated fractures or dislocations, and lower baseline lower extremity motor scores. After propensity score matching of these baseline variables, 118 pairs were matched. HEMI patients had a significantly worse motor recovery from baseline to follow-up based on their diminished change in upper extremity motor scores and total motor scores. CONCLUSION: Cervical sensorimotor complete tSCIs from HEMI were associated with significantly lower motor recovery compared to LEMI patients. Our findings suggest that mechanism of injury should be considered in modelling prognosis and in understanding the heterogeneity of outcomes after acute tSCI.