OBJECTIVE: To analyze the victims of traffic accidents that have disability due to spinal cord injury. METHODS: We evaluated the records of 719 victims of traffic accidents that requested benefit arising from injuries causesd by traffic accidents and selected victims who suffered spinal cord injury. The variables age, sex, type of accident, injury resulting, and degree of disability according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health were then analyzed. RESULTS: A total disability was found in 32 (4.5%) patients, 27 (84.37%) male and 5 (15.62%) females (RR = 0.780, 95% CI of 0.306 to 1.990). Of this total, 11 patients had spinal cord injuries (34.37%) (RR = 13.245, 95% CI 0.267 to 0.966). Functional disability was observable in 360 (50.1%) patients, 307 (85.27%) were male and 53 (14.72%) female. Of these, 7 (1.9%) had SCI (RR = 0.508, 95% CI 0.267 to 0.966). There was mild disability in 327 patients (45.48%), and 6 of these victims suffered SCI (1.83%) (RR = 0.398, 95% CI 0.211 to 0.765). Car crashes accounted for 70,83% of these patients, while motorcycles and pedestrians 30,83 % and 12,5% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The SCI represents the second largest cause of disability among survivors of total traffic accidents and occupies a second plane for functional disability. The incidence of sequelae due SCI was 0.38%, most in car occupants (70,83%).
Spinal cord injuries; Accidents, traffic; Statistics on sequelae and disability; Epidemiology; Wounds and injuries
