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Study design:

Literature review.

Objectives:

Globally map non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NTSCI) incidence, prevalence, survival, level of injury and aetiology. Propose a research framework for NTSCI prevention and launch a repository of NTSCI data.

Setting:

Initiative of the International Spinal Cord Society Prevention Committee.

Methods:

Literature search of Medline and Embase (1959–June 2011). Relevant articles in any language regarding adults with NTSCI were included. Stratification of information about incidence and prevalence into green/yellow/orange/red data quality ‘zones’ and comparisons between World Health Organisation (WHO) regions and countries.

Results:

Three hundred and seventy-seven abstracts reviewed—45 of these from 24 countries in 12 of the 21 WHO global regions had relevant information. Only one publication had survival data. Prevalence data for NTSCI existed for only two …