A new study published in The Spine Journal examines episode of care costs for adult spinal deformity surgery.
Study authors examined data from 126 patients who underwent spinal deformity correction from 2008 to 2013. The cost data was converted to 2013 dollars and paired with the quality of care data.
Patients underwent surgery at one of three centers, with 86 percent being women. Study authors found:
1. Around 17 percent of the cost variation was explained by the treatment location.
2. Surgical factors represented around 4 percent of the cost variation.
3. Each fused level increased the cost of surgery by around $2,500.
4. Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 lowered the cost $10,500 and the posterior only approach lowered cost by $9,400 per episode of care.
5. The researchers didn't observe a significant difference in the two-year quality-adjusted life years for patients across the three center locations.