Point of view: In response to spinal fusion in the United States: Analysis of trends from 1998 to 2008

摘要

This analysis of trends in spinal surgery is a welcome update to similar previous analyses. Readers may differ, however, in how welcome they perceive the results to be. Rates of spinal fusion surgery continue to rise at a rapid pace, unabated from previous decades. Increases in fusion surgery easily outpaced those of other orthopedic procedures and common coronary artery interventions. The data source, the National Inpatient Sample, is nationally representative and mirrors insurance claims for the procedures, and there is little reason to doubt the accuracy of the results.