A study published in Spine examines the number of sacral fractures and in-hospital complication instances for patients undergoing spine surgery.
The researchers used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 2002 to 2011 for patients with sacral fractures as the primary discharge diagnosis. There were 10,177 patients included in the study who had sacral fractures and 1,002 who underwent surgery.
Here are five findings from the study:
1. Sacral fractures increased from 0.67 per 100,000 persons in 2002 to 2.09 per 100,000 persons in 2011.
2. Surgical treatment for these patients increased from 0.05 per 100,000 patients in 2002 to 0.24 per 100,000 in 2011.
3. Around 25 percent of the patient reported complications with surgery. The complication rate remained steady over time.
4. Length of stay for patients dropped significantly from 11.93 days in 2002 to 9.66 days in 2011.
5. Independent factors associated with in-hospital complications were:
• Congestive heart failure
• Coagulopathy
• Electrolyte abnormalities
Limiting the complications is important clinically for patient outcomes, but also economically to lower overall healthcare costs. Shorter length of stay and eliminating costs related to caring for a complication can significantly reduce the procedure's economic burden.