Surgery for spinal metastasis up from 2000 to 2009 in US

(HealthDay)—From 2000 to 2009 there was an increase in surgical treatment for spinal metastasis in the United States, which was accompanied by increased complication rates and costs, according to a study published in the Sept. 1 issue of The Spine Journal.

Hiroyuki Yoshihara, M.D., Ph.D., from the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City, and Daisuke Yoneoka, from The Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Tokyo, utilized administrative data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database to examine trends in surgical treatment for spinal metastasis. Patients receiving surgical treatment for spinal metastasis from 2000 to 2009 were identified, and trends and in-hospital patient outcomes were analyzed.

The researchers observed an increasing trend in the population growth-adjusted rate of surgical treatment for spinal metastasis from 2000 to 2009 (1.15 to 1.77 per 100,000; P < 0.001). Over time, the average Elixhauser comorbidity score increased (P < 0.001), as did the overall in-hospital complication rate (P < 0.001). In contrast, there was no change in the in-hospital mortality rate (P = 0.413) and length of hospital stay (P = 0.626). Over time, there was a more than two-fold increase in the inflation-adjusted mean hospital charges ($50,390 to $110,173; P < 0.001).

"During the last decade, surgical treatment for spinal metastasis has increased in the United States," the authors write.

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