Thoracic spinal trauma associated with closed thoraco-abdominal injury

Objective: To explore the management of thoracic spinal trauma (TST) associated with closed thoraco abdominal injuries (CTAI). Methods: A retrospective study was made on 259 patients with TST admitted to our department as an emergency treatment from January 1996 to June 2001. We summarized the clinical features of TST associated with CTAI. Results: Among 259 patients with thoracic spinal trauma, 112 were associated with CTAI. Traffic accident was the most common cause. The force causing upper TST was more violent than that causing the lower. Pulmonary complications were the leading cause of death in this group. Surgery could not improve neurological function for completely paraplegic patients. Conclusions: The reason that upper TST has the tendency to be associated with CTAI is its special anatomical feature. Routine ultrasonic examination can avoid misdiagnosis of latent closed abdominal injuries associated with spinal injury. The presence of potential injuries, especially CTAI, should be considered when deciding whether or not to perform surgery early.