A cervical spinal cord injury is a tragic occurrence for the sufferer and their loved ones. Because so many resources are needed to manage the patient during both the acute and rehabilitative stages, it has a significant impact on society and it is mainly related to cervical spine fractures and the most frequent kind of spinal fractures are those to the cervical spine. Automobile accidents, followed by diving into shallow water, firearm injuries, and sports activities are common causes of cervical spine injury. In developing countries like Ethiopia, little is known about the prevalence of cervical spinal injuries. An understanding of the prevalence of spinal injury is fundamental to developing possible preventive strategies and improving our primary trauma care. Assessing the pattern, outcome, and associated factors of patients with cervical spine injury who have visited AaBET Hospital from January 2018 to November 2023 is the primary objective of this study. Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted at AaBET Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study included patients who presented to the emergency department with a diagnosis of cervical spine injury from January 1, 2018, to November 30, 2023. Descriptive analysis was used for statistical analysis of baseline data, and regression analysis was used to determine associations between dependent and independent variables. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total data of 149 patients were analyzed, with an average age of 36.3 ± 14.9 years (ranges 9-85 years) and the male-to-female ratio was 2.9:1. Road traffic accident occurs in 49.7% of patients as a mechanism of injury followed by falling down accident (39.6%) of patients. Seventy-eight (52.3%) patients sustained with a total of 114 associated injuries (ASOI). Head injury was the commonly associated injury followed by chest and extremity injury. The most frequently injured cervical vertebra was C7 followed by C6 and T1. 68.5% of the patients have multilevel injuries. 33.6% of patients have neurological impairment ASIA class A followed by ASIA class E (29.5%). The overall hospital mortality is 7.4%. The level of cervical spine injury, the ASIA class of the patient, and the presence of associated injury were strongly associated with mortality. The mean ± SD length of hospital stay was 13.6 ± 16.4 days. And 30.2% of patients have prolonged lengths of hospital stay (PLOS). Neurosurgical intervention and the presence of associated injury have been significantly associated with PLOS. This study showed the common mechanism was RTA and C7 was the common injury level. C3 injury level, ASIA A neurologic deficit, and having associated injury were associated with mortality. Undergoing neurosurgical intervention and the presence of associated injury were associated with prolonged length of hospital stay (PLOS).

The authors have declared no competing interest.

N/A. This study is not a clinical trial. We just collect secondary data from the records or history of patients.

It is the author's declaration that no money was obtained for this research. However, St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College paid for the logistical costs associated with data collection, transportation, and to duplicate study instruments.

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This study used secondary data from patient charts, which were handled with strict confidentiality. Ethical clearance and approval to conduct the research were obtained from St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College and the Department of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, Addis Ababa. The study commenced after obtaining ethical clearance and permission from the hospital management to review records also. Due to the retrospective design, the requirement for informed consent was waived. Since both the authors and data collectors didn’t have access to the patients during and after data collection. We simply obtain a permission from the administrator of the hospital to access the charts after we have submitted the IRB letter. If necessary, PM 23/126 is a reference number of the IRB letter we obtained.

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

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