Demographics, injury, and hospitalization information of patients with thoracic, thoracolumbar, and lumbar spine injuries.
| Variable | Total N = 257 | Operative n = 167 | Nonoperative n = 90 | P |
| Age, mean ± SD, y | 35.2 ± 11.3 | 34.4 ± 11.3 | 36.8 ± 11.3 | 0.059 |
| Sex, male, n (%) | 215 (83.7) | 137 (82) | 78 (86.7) | 0.435 |
| Insurance, n (%) | 0.819 | |||
| Public | 225 (87.5) | 145 (86.8) | 80 (88.9) | |
| Private | 32 (12.5) | 22 (13.2) | 10 (11.1) | |
| Mechanism, n (%) | 0.439 | |||
| RTA | 112 (43.6) | 76 (45.5) | 36 (40) | |
| Fall | 95 (37.0) | 57 (34.1) | 38 (42.2) | |
| Other | 50 (19.4) | 34 (20.4) | 16 (17.8) | |
| Admitted to OSH, n (%) | 255 (99.2) | 166 (99.4) | 89 (98.9) | 1.000 |
| Location, n (%) | ||||
| Thoracic | 52 (20.2) | 34 (20.4) | 18 (20) | 1.000 |
| Thoracolumbar junction (T10–L2) | 189 (73.5) | 126 (75.4) | 63 (70) | 0.425 |
| Lumbar | 16 (6.2) | 7 (4.2) | 9 (10) | 0.116 |
| Imaging, n (%) | ||||
| X-ray imaging | 207 (80.5) | 131 (78.4) | 76 (84.4) | 0.320 |
| CT | 80 (31.1) | 55 (32.9) | 25 (27.8) | 0.477 |
| MRI | 152 (59.1) | 101 (60.4) | 51 (56.7) | 0.719 |
| Neurologic status, n (%) | ||||
| Complete (ASIA A) | 117 (45.5) | 80 (47.9) | 37 (41.1) | 0.362 |
| Incomplete (ASIA B–D) | 81 (31.5) | 62 (37.1) | 19 (21.1) | 0.013 |
| Intact (ASIA E) | 59 (23) | 25 (15.0) | 34 (37.8) | < 0.001 |
| Indication for surgery, n (%) | 232 (90.3) | 167 (100) | 65 (72.2) | < 0.001 |
| Length of stay, median (IQR), d | 25 (14–43) | 28 (15–45) | 22.5 (11.2–41.8) | 0.117 |
| Time from injury to admission, median (IQR), d | 3 (1–7) | 3 (1–6) | 3 (1–9.8) | 0.755 |
| Pressure ulcer, n (%)a | 54 (21) | 32 (19.2) | 22 (24.4) | 0.419 |
| Mortality, n (%) | 3 (1.2) | 1 (0.6) | 2 (2.2) | 0.584 |
Abbreviations: ASIA, American Spinal Injury Association; CT, computed tomography; IQR, interquartile range; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; OSH, outside hospital; RTA, road traffic accident.
↵a One missing value.