Abstract
ObjectiveAcute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (AcSCI) causes significant morbidity and has an impact on health care utilization. The aim of our study was to analyze health care utilization in patients undergoing surgical decompression and fusion for AcSCI based on timing and type of surgical approaches. Patient and methodsData were extracted using ICD9/10 and CPT codes from MarketScan (IBM Corp. Armonk, New York [v. 2000-2015]). We defined the comparative groups based on the timing of surgery (early <24 hours and late >24 hours) and surgical approaches: anterior, posterior and circumferential. Outcomes of interest were: length of hospital stay, discharge disposition and health care utilization in the index hospitalization, within 30 days after discharge and 12 months following injury.ResultsOf 1604 patients, 80.9% had early procedures and 55.7% of these had anterior-only procedures. Overall, the median age was 46 years in the early surgery group and 47 years in the late surgery group. Patients in the early surgical group incurred higher outpatient services and there was no difference in cumulative median payments (index + 12 months) across the cohorts (early: $127,379, late: $121,049). The incidence of repeat surgery at the index level did not differ based on the timing of surgery (early 5% vs. late 7%). Complications were higher in the circumferential surgery cohort irrespective of the timing of surgery. Overall, combined median payment (index hospitalization + 12 months) was significantly higher for early circumferential cohorts compared to the anterior or posterior-only cohort ($195,990 and $109,977 vs. $121,236 respectively).ConclusionLate (>24 hours) surgeries were associated with a higher likelihood to be discharged home, lower utilization of outpatient services, higher hospital readmissions and no differences in payments (index and cumulative) compared to early surgeries. Circumferential approaches were associated with higher complication rates, lesser likelihood to be discharged home, higher utilization of outpatient services compared to anterior-only approaches.
Highlights
Acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (AcSCI) represents a devastating event that causes significant morbidity and mortality, and has an annual incidence of 15-83 per million worldwide [1,2]
Circumferential approaches were associated with higher complication rates, lesser likelihood to be discharged home, higher utilization of outpatient services compared to anterior-only approaches
Based on the MarketScan database, we found that posterior cervical decompression and fusion for AcSCI are increasingly being performed for AcSCI
Summary
Acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (AcSCI) represents a devastating event that causes significant morbidity and mortality, and has an annual incidence of 15-83 per million worldwide [1,2]. Prevalence is highest in the United States with 906 cases per million people annually [2]. AcSCI constitutes up to 70% of all traumatic spinal cord injuries [3]. Leading etiologies of SCI include motor vehicle accidents, falls, violent acts, and contact sports [4]. Health care costs stem from greater payments required for acute care in intensive care unit facilities, higher rates of complications related to the injury, rehabilitation and health services [5]. Diverse adverse health outcomes often follow SCI, including negative effects on multiple organ systems such as musculoskeletal, renal, digestive, cardiovascular and respiratory systems [6,7].
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