TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - How bullet trajectory affects outcomes of civilian gunshot injury to the spine
JO  - Journal of clinical neuroscience
A1  - Chittiboina, Prashant
A1  - Banerjee, Anirban Deep
A1  - Zhang, Shihao
A1  - Caldito, Gloria
A1  - Nanda, Anil
A1  - Willis, Brian K.
SP  - 1630
EP  - 1633
VL  - 18
IS  - 12
N2  - 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>
LA  - en
SN  - 0967-5868
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2011.02.047
ID  - ref1
ER  -