Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurosurgery, Armed Forces Yangju Hospital, Gyeonggi, Korea | [b] Department of Neurosurgery, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea | [c] Department of Neurosurgery, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea | [d] Department of Neurosurgery, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Je Hoon Jeong, Department of Neurosurgery, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, 170 Jomaru-ro, Bucheon 14584, Korea. E-mail: neuri71@schmc.ac.kr.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification System (SLICS) is a commonly used algorithm for diagnosing and managing subaxial cervical spine trauma. A SLIC score 4 suggests either surgery or non-surgically treatment depending on the surgeon’s experience and patient’s conditions. OBJECTIVE: Prognosis and treatment results were analyzed in patients with SLIC score 4. METHODS: The patients with SLIC score 4 were retrospectively reviewed from 2012 to 2019. Forty-one patients were included and divided into two groups: non-surgically treated and surgically treated. Demographic data and radiographs were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the difference between the two clinical groups. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were non-surgically treated, and nineteen patients were surgically treated. There was no neurological deterioration in both groups. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the last follow-up AISA and Nurick grade (p> 0.05). There was no significant difference in the number of patients who showed improvement when comparing the initial and the last follow-up neurological status (p> 0.05). CONCLUSION: Regardless of the treatment method, the spinal cord injury patients with SLICS point 4 showed a relatively good prognosis. Patients with SLIC score 4 could be treated non-surgically or surgically based on the surgeon’s experience and factors associated with the patient’s acute health status and chronic comorbidities.
