@article{ref1,
title="How bullet trajectory affects outcomes of civilian gunshot injury to the spine",
journal="Journal of clinical neuroscience",
year="2011",
author="Chittiboina, Prashant and Banerjee, Anirban Deep and Zhang, Shihao and Caldito, Gloria and Nanda, Anil and Willis, Brian K.",
volume="18",
number="12",
pages="1630-1633",
abstract="We analysed retrospectively the effect of missile trajectory on outcomes from civilian gunshot injury to the spine (GSIS) between 1994 and 2008. Most of the 98 patients were male (88.8%). A minority (8%) of patients had multiple column injuries and a bone or bullet fragment in the spinal canal (14%). Neurologic injury was seen in 33%; and external bracing was applied to 30% of patients. The odds of bracing among patients with multiple levels of damage were 3.4 times than for patients with a single vertebral level of damage. The odds of paralysis among black patients were 6.33 times the odds among non-black patients. The odds of paralysis among patients with a fragment in the spinal canal were 12.99 times those without. We conclude that the supero-inferior trajectory affects the number of vertebral levels involved and consequently the need for bracing. The lateral trajectory affects neurological outcomes.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0967-5868",
doi="10.1016/j.jocn.2011.02.047",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2011.02.047"
}