The clinical data of elderly patients with spinal cord injury treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from 2015 to 2020 were reviewed to analyze the epidemiological characteristics.

Extract relevant data of patients from electronic medical record query system, we collected data on gender, age, etiology, occupation, injury site, complications, degree of injury, hypertension and diabetes from 2015 to 2017 and 2018 to 2020, and compared the epidemiological differences between the two groups.

This study included 269 cases of patients, 183 males (68.0%) and 86 females (32.0%). There were 157 cases from 2015 to 2017, including 101 males (64.3%) and 56 females (35.7%), median age 67 years (62-72 years); There were 112 cases from 2018 to 2020, including 82 males (73.2%) and 30 females (26.8%), with median age of 66 years (62.5 to 70 years). There were 263 patients under 79 years old (97.8%). The incidence rate of cervical spinal cord injury was the highest in two time periods, there were 70 cases (62.5%) from 2015 to 2017 and 77 cases (49.0%) from 2018 to 2020, respectively, showing a downward trend in recent years. The most common injury factor in two groups was trauma, which was 60 cases (53.6%) from 2015 to 2017 and 60 cases (38.20%) from 2018 to 2020. The occupation with the highest proportion in both groups was farmers, there were 57 cases (50.1%) from 2015 to 2017and 94 cases (59.9%) from 2018 to 2020. In recent years, the incidence of farmers had an increasing trend. There were not any statistically significant differences between the two groups in gender, age, spinal cord injury site and complicated hypertension and diabetes, while there were statistically significant differences in injury factors, occupation and complications between the two groups.

Number of cases in elderly patients with spinal cord injury has a tendency to increase, the main groups of elderly patients under the age of 79, the neck section of spinal cord is the most common, incomplete spinal cord injury accounted for the majority, the most common complications of pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis has a tendency to increase. Farmers accounted for the highest proportion, and the main injury factor was trauma.