Here are seven key spine and orthopedic studies Becker's reported on so far in 2024:
1. Bundled payments from private insurers were a viable option for lumbar spinal fusion patients, according to a study published in the January 2024 issue of Spine. The study looked at lumbar spinal fusion patients from October 2018 to December 2018 who used CMS' Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advance model, and compared that data with private bundle data from 2018 to 2020 to analyze the transition away from BPCI-A.
2. A study published in The Spine Journal investigates whether most patients are willing to pay out of pocket for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, degenerative lumbar spinal fusions and adult spine deformity surgery.
3. Endoscopic spine surgery costs more for hospitals than open surgical procedures but is associated with fewer complications for patients, according to a study published in the January edition of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. Researchers examined data from 633 open and 195 endoscopic decompression lumbar surgical procedures that were performed from 2016 to 2022. Endoscopic procedures were more costly for hospitals, with disposable supplies accounting for 31.7% of the total cost of cases, compared to 10.1% of the cost for open procedures.
4. Half of orthopedic surgeons and trainees report experiencing bullying, discrimination or differential treatment by colleagues in the workforce, according to a study published Feb. 28 in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.
5. Cervical disc replacement has increased significantly from 2011 and 2021 while anterior cervical discectomy and fusion plateaued, according to a study published Feb. 24 in The Spine Journal.
6. Two studies presented at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeon's 2024 conference examined the impact that the drug semaglutide, which is sold as Ozempic to treat Type 2 diabetes and as Wegovy for weight loss, could have on patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. One study found postoperative complications after total hip replacement are similar between obese patients using semaglutide compared to those who did not. The second study found that diabetic patients who were taking semaglutide at time of their surgeries did not demonstrate statistically significant higher rates of complications compared with controls, had lower rates of readmission within 90 days of surgery and lower rates of prosthetic joint infection.