Epidemiological and Clinical Features, Treatment Status, and Economic Burden of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in China

BackgroundChina has the largest population of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI), but has not yet performed a national-level study on its epidemiological and clinical features, treatment status, and economic burden. MethodsA total of 14 754 patients were recruited between January 2013 and December 2018 from 37 hospitals in 11 provinces and municipalities, which represented all geographical divisions of China. The percentage of TSCI in hospitalized patients and the percentage of TSCI in hospitalized patients through the orthopaedic departments were calculated. The treatment status, total and daily costs were collected. ResultsThe percentage of TSCI in hospitalized patients and the percentage of TSCI in hospitalized patients through the orthopaedic departments did not change significantly overall (APC= -0.5%, 95% CI: -3.0 to 2.1 and -1.6%, -4.9 to 1.8, respectively). A total of 10 918 (74.0%) patients received surgery after TSCI. However, only 3.0% of patients underwent surgery received surgery less than 24 hours after injury. A total of 2 084 (14.1%) patients were treated with methylprednisolone sodium succinate/methylprednisolone (MPSS/MP) at a high dose ([≥]500 mg) and 641 (4.3%) patients receiving it within 8 hours. The total costs for acute TSCI decreased (-4.8%, -6.2 to -3.4), while the daily costs did not change significantly (0.5%, -1.2 to 2.2). ConclusionsThis study revealed epidemiological and clinical features, treatment status, and economic burden of TSCI that occurred in China from 2013 to 2018. FundingNational Key Research and Development Project of Stem Cell and Transformation Research (2019YFA0112100).