TITLE:
Traumatic Spinal Injuries Related to Artisanal Mine Collapses in Côte d’Ivoire: A Two-Center Analytical Study of Injury Patterns, Neurological Severity, and Prehospital Management
AUTHORS:
Koffi Yves Soress Dongo, Faozo Stephane Landry Teti, Keableon Louis Aymar Derou, Konan Serge Yao, Yao Bernard Fionko, Aderehime Haidara
KEYWORDS:
Traumatic Spinal Injury, Artisanal Gold Mining, Mine Collapse, ASIA Score, Prehospital Care, West Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modern Neurosurgery,
Vol.16 No.4,
September
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background and Objective: Artisanal gold mining, expanding rapidly across West Africa, carries a serious accident burden whose resulting traumatic spinal injuries (TSI) have not been the subject of any analytical study. This work compares the injury pattern, severity, evacuation, and one-year outcome of TSI caused by artisanal mine collapse with those of other mechanisms. Methods: Retrospective two-center cohort in Côte d’Ivoire (2019-2024): 120 TSI, including 26 collapses versus 94 other mechanisms. Univariate comparisons were followed by Firth penalized logistic regression for four outcomes: severe injury (ASIA A/B), thoracic location, evacuation without medical support, and one-year death; because the models adjust for presumed mediators, the unadjusted total effect is reported alongside the direct effect. Results: Collapse victims more often had a thoracic location, compression or burst-type fractures, and a severe injury (ASIA A/B: 85% vs 45%; unadjusted OR 6.81). After adjustment, collapse remained associated with severe injury (OR 4.29; 95% CI: 1.19 - 15.5) and, suggestively, with thoracic location (OR 2.84). The absence of medically staffed evacuation was the strongest association of the mechanism (96% vs 36%; adjusted OR 37.2). Favorable outcome was rarer (12% vs 48%), with no difference in mortality by mechanism, deaths concentrating on complete injuries (88.6% of ASIA A versus 1.3% of grades B to E). Conclusion: Artisanal mine collapse is a distinct, probably under-reported mechanism of TSI, marked by increased severity and a near-absence of medically staffed evacuation; the thoracic predominance requires confirmation. Mortality appears determined by injury completeness rather than by the mechanism itself, and argues for the prevention of mining accidents and the strengthening of prehospital care.