Long-Term Disability After Traumatic Spinal Injuries: A Military Retrospective Study.

This study investigates the long-term disability outcomes of severe traumatic spinal injuries (TSI), defined by a spinal Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of 3 or higher, among military personnel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from 1997 to 2020. Using data from three nationwide registries covering pre-hospital care, hospital admission, and rehabilitation, the study found that individuals with severe TSIs had significantly higher Injury Severity Scores, longer hospital stays, and increased intensive care admissions compared to those with other severe injuries. Over a median follow-up of nearly 11 years, severe TSIs were associated with an approximately 12-fold increase in the odds of severe permanent disability, including paraplegia and quadriplegia, relative to non-spinal injuries. The findings underscore the critical need for targeted prevention and early intervention strategies to reduce the substantial long-term disability burden of spinal trauma in military populations.