Penetrating spinal cord injury causing paraplegia in a bird hunter in rural Tanzania

Management and Outcomes of Traumatic Pediatric Spinal Cord Injuries in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review

“…Other causes of TSCI were road traffic accidents (n=84/212, 39.6%; 95 CI% = 33.0%-46.2%), sport injuries (n =15/212, 7.1%, 95 CI% = 3.6-10.5%), and others (n=9/212, 4.2%, 95 CI% = 1.5-7.0%) (Table 3). Only one case of penetrating injury (0.5%, 95 CI% = -0.4-1.4%) was reported 22 ; the remaining 211 cases (99.5%, 95% CI = 98.6%-100.5%) were due to blunt force injuries. There were 83 cervical injuries (39.2%, 95 CI% =32.6-45.7%), 59 thoracic (27.8%, 95 CI% = 21.8-33.9%), 44 lumbar (20.8%, 95 CI% = 15.3-26.2%), 21 thoracolumbar (9.9%, 95 CI% = 5.9-13.9%), two cervicothoracic (0.9%, 95 CI% = -0.4-2.2%) and one sacral (0.5%, 95 CI% = -0.4-1.4%) case(s) in total.…”

“…All 5 of the studies reported on the setting where the patient received further management: 2 spinal/ orthopaedic rehabilitation units, 1 tertiary care center, 1 teaching hospital and 2 military hospitals. [22][23][24][25][26] Only one of the included articles described the healthcare professionals involved in the patients' care. The reported healthcare professionals were orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and nurses.…”

“…The reported healthcare professionals were orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and nurses. 22 One study reported on pre-hospital management: one patient (0.5%) had J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f their C-spine stabilised by a cervical collar. The mean delay to treatment was reported in three studies; this ranged from 1 hour to 2.5 years.…”

Ox cart accidents as a cause of spinal cord injury in Tanzania

“…The indigenous in our study estimate their loaded ox carts speed faster than Indian bullock carts (3 km/h). It would be unfair to compare the two speeds as in the Indian study [19], the bullock carts were loaded with 1100 kg while the Tanzanian ox-carts transported mainly the rider. In any case, although the impact will be a fraction of that of any motor vehicle at a maximum speed, it is sufficient to inflict serious injury.…”

“…Our referral hospital receives patients from more urbanized as well as very rural regions. We recently described a bird hunter from Central Tanzania who presented with TSCI due to being accidentally shot in the neck with an arrow [19], clearly an uncommon cause of SCI. Local trauma mechanism patterns help identify risky practices, which should be considered in prevention programs.…”