1. What was the imaging modality to diagnose spinal cord/spine injury? (MRI? CT? both?)

2. It is expected that cause of death in SCI patients varies depending on time ater injury. The author should describe more in detail the causes of death.

Attending neurosurgeon for neurotrauma

The authors did not directly address the focus of research properly.  The Conclusions were erronous because the methodology was inadequate and did not really address the topic.  The Risk factors in Nigeria in predicting mortality are various the most significant being motocycle accident.  Other factors like poor road maintainance and faulty vehicles which imparts on the severity of injury and hence survival was not addressed.  Brain Injury and multiorgan damage was factored in as exclusion criteria which should actually improve the mortality figures but the authors did not adequately explain why this did not improve the figures given.  I will suggest a rewrite so at to have a better picure and reflect the status and magnitude of mortality of spinal cord injuries which is unacceptably high.  Finally the reason for multiple hospital admissions is poorly articulated.

Anatomic Pathologist with special interest in Central Nervous System Pathology

THE STUDY IS LIMITED IN SCOPE AND DOES NOT REPRESENT THE TRUE NIGERIA PICTURE, THE AUTHOR MAY CONSIDER MODIFYING THE TOPIC.

2. ONE IS NOT SURE WHETHER AUTHORS WERE INTERESTED IN MORTALITY AT 6 MONTHS POST INJURY OR AT 6 MONTHS FOLLOW UP.

3. WE NEED TO KNOW WHETHER THE CENTRES HAVE SIMILAR PROTOCOL IN MANAGEMENT OF SPINAL TRAUMA.

4.THE TABLES AND THE FIGURES WERE NOT SHOWN.

5. IT IS INTERESTING THAT OUT OF 584 PATIENTS, ONLY 58 HAD COMPLETE NEROLOGICAL DEFICIT YET 144 DIED. THE AUTHORS SHOULD LET US KNOW THE NEUROLOGICAL STATUS OF THESE 144 PATIENT AT ADMISSION.

6. THE REFERENCES WERE ALSO NOT AVAILABLE  

I AM A SPINE SURGEON WITH INTEREST IN SPINAL TRAUMA