The study included 1,082 patients from a single institution. All patients underwent either one- or two-level anterior cervical fusions. Researchers analyzed the independent effects of preoperative planning characteristics on total hospital costs using multivariate linear regression models.
The researchers found:
1. The patient’s age, obesity and diabetes were all independently associated with increased average hospital costs. The higher costs include:
• Age: $1,404
• Obesity: $681
• Diabetes: $1,877
2. The confidence interval for these costs were:
• Age: $857 to $1,951
• Obesity: $285 to $1,076
• Diabetes: $726 to $3,072
3. The patient’s age and diabetes were associated with longer length of stay and more complications.
4. Neither the patient’s age nor whether they had diabetes had an impact on the operative time.
5. Obesity was not associated with increased length of stay, complications or operative time.
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