In Brief:
There is a paucity of information on early mortality, defined as death occurring during the initial hospital admission, following traumatic spinal cord injury. Retrospective analysis of 1995 patients with traumatic spinal cord injury, admitted to various hospitals of South Carolina from 1993 to 2003, was performed. Male gender, age more than 20 years, severe systemic injuries, medical comorbidities, and traumatic brain injury were significantly associated with early mortality in a multivariate regression model.
