Geographic Variation in Physician Payments from Private Insurers for Commonly Performed Inpatient Orthopaedic Surgeries in the United States.

We investigated geographic variation in percentage of private insurance payments to United States physicians for commonly performed orthopaedic procedures. We queried a private administrative claims database for patients who underwent inpatient total knee arthroplasty (TKA), total hip arthroplasty (THA), single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), and posterior lumbar fusion (PLF) from 2010 to 2017. Percentage of total payments to physician (PPP) was calculated by dividing physician payments by total payments. Analysis of variance was used to determine geographic differences in PPP. A total of 542,530 patients were included, mean age was 55 ± 8. PPP significantly varied between states for all four procedures (p < 0.001); Colorado and Alabama had the lowest and highest PPP, respectively. There was a significant annual decrease in PPP across all regions in all procedures. There was significant variation in percentage of total payments to physicians across geographic regions in the United States for TKA, THA, ACDF and PLF. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 30(1):014-019, 2021).

Surgically Managed Malakoplakia of the Spine: A Case Report.

CASE: A 66-year-old woman with polymyositis and recurrent urinary tract infections presented with lumbar pain and progressive lower extremity neuropathy. Imaging showed lytic destruction of the vertebral bone from L2 to L4 with extension into adjacent musculature. Histological examination demonstrated Michaelis-Gutmann bodies consistent with malakoplakia. The patient underwent revision T12-sacrum posterior fusion, L2-5 laminectomy, and anterior L3-4 corpectomy, followed by L2-4 anterior stabilization and a 6-week course of ceftriaxone. At 3 months postoperatively, she was asymptomatic without recurrence. CONCLUSION: Malakoplakia of bone should be considered in the differential diagnosis of lytic bone lesions and can be effectively treated with surgical debulking with penetrative antibiotics.

Factors associated with extended length of stay in patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether certain patient, surgical, and recovery-related factors may be associated with extended LOS following posterior spinal fusion for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). Understanding determinants of hospital length of stay (LOS) following surgical procedures is important for perioperative planning and improvements in quality of care. METHODS: Using a private insurance claims database, AIS patients ages 10-21 that underwent posterior spinal fusion from 2010 to 2016 in the United States were identified. Extended LOS was defined as > 7.2 days (+ 1 standard deviation from the mean). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with extended LOS. Significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: 5864 patients met the inclusion criteria (mean age 14.4 ± 2.2 years; 75% girls). Mean LOS was 4.7 ± 2.5 days (median 4 days). 69% patients had 7-12 levels fused, and 25% had 13+ levels fused. On multivariate analysis, factors associated with extended LOS were: longer fusion construct (13+ levels fused) (OR 2.1, p = 0.020), thoracoplasty (OR 3.8, p < 0.001), and postoperative complications: wound problems (OR 13, p < 0.001), respiratory problems (OR 7.9, p < 0.001), urinary tract infection (OR 6.0, p < 0.001), and constipation (OR 2.4, p < 0.001). Postoperative ICU admission, female gender, and surgery performed on Wednesday were significant on univariate analysis but not on multivariate analysis. Extended LOS was associated with an increase of $50,494 in net hospital payments (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patient, surgical and recovery factors are associated with extended LOS in AIS patients who undergo posterior spinal fusion surgery. Extended LOS significantly increases healthcare spending. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Devastating Vertebral Osteomyelitis After Epidural Steroid Injection: A Case Report.

CASE: A 62-year-old man with no comorbidities presented with back and bilateral leg pain and progressive paraplegia that developed over a 1-week period. He had received 2 lumbar epidural steroid injections (LESIs) for lumbar stenosis 39 and 25 days before presentation. Workup revealed osteomyelitis of L4 and L5 with epidural abscesses. He ultimately underwent all-posterior L4 and L5 corpectomy with reconstruction and L1-pelvis arthrodesis, followed by 8 weeks of intravenous antibiotics. His weakness improved, but neurological deficits persisted. CONCLUSIONS: This case illustrates a catastrophic complication after LESI, resulting in permanent neurological injury in a patient with no apparent risk factors.