OCCUPATIONAL SPINAL-CORD INJURY - DEMOGRAPHIC AND ETIOLOGIC DIFFERENCES FROM NON-OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES

Most spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are the result of motor vehicle accid ents (MVAs). There are no published reports specifically addressing SC Is that occur in the workplace. We report a cohort survey study examin ing the frequency and etiology of SCI in the workplace. Through a coop erative program, an evaluation of all SCIs seen in Colorado during a 5 1/2-year period (January 1, 1986 through June 6, 1991) is presented. We report a detailed analysis of specific data of all SCIs occurring i n the workplace. There were a total of 566, with 74 (13.1%) due to inj uries that occurred during the course of employment. The most common c ause of occupational SCI was falls, which occurred in 37 (50%), as com pared with only 15.9% of non-occupational SCIs. Only 14 (18.9%) occupa tional SCIs resulted from MVAs, compared with 59.3% of non-occupationa l SCIs. Other major etiologies for occupational SCI included being hit by a falling object in 14 individuals (18.9%), gunshot wound in three (4%), skiing in one (1.4%), stabbing in one (1.4%), and other causes in four (5.4%). Construction occupations were over-represented in occu pational SCIs with 41.9% of cases as compared with only 6.3% for the n on-occupational group. Because of the large percentage of occupational SCIs, efforts should be aimed at educating workers in at-risk occupat ions to prevent this serious injury.