Seasonal Variation in the Volume of Posterior Spinal Arthrodesis Procedures for Pediatric Scoliosis

Study Design. Retrospective review of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Kids’ Inpatient Database. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate variations in surgical case volume in the US for spinal arthrodesis for pediatric patients with scoliosis. Summary of Background Data. Approximately 38,000 spinal arthrodesis procedures are performed each year in the United States for pediatric patients with scoliosis. Anecdotally, pediatric spine surgeons report performing more scoliosis procedures during summer months and before national holidays than during other periods, but this has not been reported in the literature. A thorough understanding of seasonal variations in surgical volume may guide the allocation of health care resources. Methods. Using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Kids’ Inpatient Database, we identified 32,563 patients aged
Source: Spine - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH Source Type: research