Hip fracture care in Manitoba, Canada and New York State, United States: an analysis of administrative data

Introduction of an order set after hip fracture improves osteoporosis medication initiation and persistence: a population-based before-after analysis

We found that a standardized order set after hip fracture increased initiation of anti-osteoporosis medication and increased persistence at 1 year, but did not reduce secondary fractures.

BACKGROUND

A treatment gap exists after osteoporosis-related fractures. Introducing standardized care can improve treatment. We evaluated the impact of a hip fracture order set (OS) on anti-osteoporosis medication (AOM) initiation, persistence, and secondary fracture prevention.

METHODS

In 2015, one hospital in Manitoba, Canada, introduced a hip fracture OS including recommendations for the initiation of AOM (OS group). A control group was identified from the other hospitals in the same region. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using linked administrative health data. All individuals 50 + years with surgical treatment for low-energy hip fracture between 2010 and 2019 were included and followed for AOM initiation, medication persistence at 1 year, and secondary fractures. Between-group differences for each year were assessed using chi-square tests. Logistic regression models tested the impact of socio-demographic and clinical factors on initiation, persistence of AOM. Cox regression tested the risk of secondary fracture.

RESULTS

No baseline differences between OS group (813 patients) and control group (2150 patients) were observed in demographics, socioeconomic factors, or comorbidities. An increase in post-fracture AOM initiation was seen with OS introduction (OS group year before 16.7% versus year after 48.6%, p < 0.001). No change was seen in the control group. Persistence on AOM also increased (OS group year before 17.7% versus year after 28.4%, p < 0.001). No difference in secondary fractures was observed (OS group 19.8% versus control group 18.8%, p = 0.38).

CONCLUSION

Introduction of a hip fracture OS significantly increased AOM initiation and persistence at 1-year post-fracture. There was no significant difference in secondary fractures.

Variation in care for patients presenting with hip fracture in six high-income countries: A cross-sectional cohort study

BACKGROUND

Hip fractures are costly and common in older adults, but there is limited understanding of how treatment patterns and outcomes might differ between countries.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective serial cross-sectional cohort study of adults aged ≥66 years hospitalized with hip fracture between 2011 and 2018 in the US, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Israel using population-representative administrative data. We examined mortality, hip fracture treatment approaches (total hip arthroplasty [THA], hemiarthroplasty [HA], internal fixation [IF], and nonoperative), and health system performance measures, including hospital length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission rates, and time-to-surgery.

RESULTS

The total number of hip fracture admissions between 2011 and 2018 ranged from 23,941 in Israel to 1,219,696 in the US. In 2018, 30-day mortality varied from 3% (16% at 1 year) in Taiwan to 10% (27%) in the Netherlands. With regards to processes of care, the proportion of hip fractures treated with HA (range 23%-45%) and THA (0.2%-10%) differed widely across countries. For example, in 2018, THA was used to treat approximately 9% of patients in England and Israel but less than 1% in Taiwan. Overall, IF was the most common surgery performed in all countries (40%-60% of patients). IF was used in approximately 60% of patients in the US and Israel, but only 40% in England. In 2018, rates of nonoperative management ranged from 5% of patients in Taiwan to nearly 10% in England. Mean hospital LOS in 2018 ranged from 6.4 days (US) to 18.7 days (England). The 30-day readmission rate in 2018 ranged from 8% (in Canada and the Netherlands) to nearly 18% in England. The mean days to surgery in 2018 ranged from 0.5 days (Israel) to 1.6 days (Canada).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed substantial between-country variation in mortality, surgical approaches, and health system performance measures. These findings underscore the need for further research to inform evidence-based surgical approaches.

Emergency department utilization, admissions, and revisits in the United States (New York), Canada (Ontario), and New Zealand: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis

BACKGROUND

Emergency department (ED) utilization is a significant concern in many countries, but few population-based studies have compared ED use. Our objective was to compare ED utilization in New York (United States), Ontario (Canada), and New Zealand (NZ).

METHODS

A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of all ED visits between January 1, 2016, and September 30, 2017, for adults ≥18 years using data from the State Emergency Department and Inpatient Databases (New York), the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System and Discharge Abstract Data (Ontario), and the National Non-Admitted Patient Collection and the National Minimum Data Set (New Zealand). Outcomes included age- and sex-standardized per-capita ED utilization (overall and stratified by neighborhood income), ED disposition, and ED revisit and hospitalization within 30 days of ED discharge.

RESULTS

There were 10,998,371 ED visits in New York, 8,754,751 in Ontario, and 1,547,801 in New Zealand. Patients were older in Ontario (mean age 51.1 years) compared to New Zealand (50.3) and New York (48.7). Annual sex- and age-standardized per-capita ED utilization was higher in Ontario than New York or New Zealand (443.2 vs. 404.0 or 248.4 visits per 1000 population/year, respectively). In all countries, ED utilization was highest for residents of the lowest income quintile neighborhoods. The proportion of ED visits resulting in hospitalization was higher in New Zealand (34.5%) compared to New York (20.8%) and Ontario (12.8%). Thirty-day ED revisits were higher in Ontario (27.0%) than New Zealand (18.6%) or New York (21.4%).

CONCLUSIONS

Patterns of ED utilization differed widely across three high-income countries. These differences highlight the varying approaches that our countries take with respect to urgent visits, suggest opportunities for shared learning through international comparisons, and raise important questions about optimal approaches for all countries.

What was the Epidemiology and Global Burden of Disease of Hip Fractures From 1990 to 2019? Results From and Additional Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

BACKGROUND

Hip fractures are associated with a high risk of death; among those who survive a hip fracture, many experience substantial decreases in quality of life. A comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology and burden of hip fractures by country, age, gender, and sociodemographic factors would provide valuable information for healthcare policymaking and clinical practice. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019 was a global-level study estimating the burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories. An exploration and additional analysis of the GBD 2019 would provide a clearer picture of the incidence and burden of hip fractures.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

Using data from the GBD 2019, we asked, (1) What are the global, regional, and national incidences of hip fractures, and how did they change over a recent 30-year span? (2) What is the global, regional, and national burden of hip fractures in terms of years lived with disability, and how did it change over that same period? (3) What is the leading cause of hip fractures? (4) How did the incidence and years lived with disability of patients with hip fractures change with age, gender, and sociodemographic factors?

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study. Participant data were obtained from the GBD 2019 ( http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool ). The GBD study is managed by the WHO, coordinated by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It estimates the burden of disease and injury for 204 countries by age, gender, and sociodemographic factors, and can serve as a valuable reference for health policymaking. All estimates and their 95% uncertainty interval (UI) were produced using DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool in the GBD 2019. In this study, we directly pulled the age-standardized incidence rate and years lived with disability rate of hip fractures by location, age, gender, and cause from the GBD 2019. Based on these data, we analyzed the association between the incidence rate and latitude of each country. Then, we calculated the estimated annual percentage change to represent trends from 1990 to 2019. We also used the Spearman rank-order correlation analysis to determine the correlation between the incidence or burden of hip fractures and the sociodemographic index, a composite index of the income per capita, average years of educational attainment, and fertility rates in a country.

RESULTS

Globally, hip fracture incidences were estimated to be 14.2 million (95% UI 11.1 to 18.1), and the associated years lived with disability were 2.9 million (95% UI 2.0 to 4.0) in 2019, with an incidence of 182 (95% UI 142 to 231) and 37 (95% UI 25 to 50) per 100,000, respectively. A strong, positive correlation was observed between the incidence rate and the latitude of each country (rho = 0.65; p < 0.001). From 1990 to 2019, the global incidence rate for both genders remained unchanged (estimated annual percentage change 0.01 [95% confidence interval -0.08 to 0.11]), but was slightly increased in men (estimated annual percentage change 0.11 [95% CI 0.01 to 0.2]). The years lived with disability rate decreased slightly (estimated annual percentage change 0.66 [95% CI -0.73 to -0.6]). These rates were standardized by age. Falls were the leading cause of hip fractures, accounting for 66% of all patients and 55% of the total years lived with disability. The incidence of hip fractures was tightly and positively correlated with the sociodemographic index (rho 0.624; p < 0.001), while the years lived with disability rate was slightly negatively correlated (rho -0.247; p < 0.001). Most hip fractures occurred in people older than 70 years, and women had higher incidence rate (189.7 [95% UI 144.2 to 247.2] versus 166.2 [95% UI 133.2 to 205.8] per 100,000) and years lived with disability (38.4 [95% UI 26.9 to 51.6] versus 33.7 [95% UI 23.1 to 45.5] per 100,000) than men.

CONCLUSION

Hip fractures are common, devastating to patients, and economically burdensome to healthcare systems globally, with falls being the leading cause. The age-standardized incidence rate has slightly increased in men. Many low-latitude countries have lower incidences, possibly because of prolonged sunlight exposure. Policies should be directed to promoting public health education about maintaining bone-protective lifestyles, enhancing the knowledge of osteoporosis management in young resident physicians and those in practice, increasing the awareness of osteoporosis screening and treatment in men, and developing more effective antiosteoporosis drugs for clinical use.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, prognostic study.

Surgical Outcomes in Canada and the United States: An Analysis of the ACS-NSQIP Clinical Registry

BACKGROUND

There has been longstanding uncertainty over whether lower healthcare spending in Canada might be associated with inferior outcomes for hospital-based care. We hypothesized that mortality and surgical complication rates would be higher for patients who underwent four common surgical procedures in Canada as compared to the US.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all adults who underwent hip fracture repair, colectomy, pancreatectomy, or spine surgery in 96 Canadian and 585 US hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (ACS-NSQIP) between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2019. We compared patients with respect to demographic characteristics and comorbidity. We then compared unadjusted and adjusted outcomes within 30-days of surgery for patients in Canada and the US including: (1) Mortality; (2) A composite constituting 1-or-more of the following complications (cardiac arrest; myocardial infarction; pneumonia; renal failure/; return to operating room; surgical site infection; sepsis; unplanned intubation).

RESULTS

Our hip fracture cohort consisted of 21,166 patients in Canada (22.3%) and 73,817 in the US (77.7%), for colectomy 21,279 patients in Canada (8.9%) and 218,307 (91.1%), for pancreatectomy 873 (7.8%) in Canada and 12,078 (92.2%) in the US, and for spine surgery 14,088 (5.3%) and 252,029 (94.7%). Patient sociodemographics and comorbidity were clinically similar between jurisdictions. In adjusted analyses odds of death was significantly higher in Canada for two procedures (colectomy (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.044-1.424; P = .012) and pancreatectomy (OR 2.11; 95% CI 1.26-3.56; P = .005)) and similar for hip fracture and spine surgery. Odds of the composite outcome were significantly higher in Canada for all 4 procedures, largely driven by higher risk of cardiac events and post-operative infections.

CONCLUSIONS

We found evidence of higher rates of mortality and surgical complications within 30-days of surgery for patients in Canada as compared to the US.

Hip fracture predicts subsequent hip fracture: a retrospective observational study to support a call to early hip fracture prevention efforts in post-fracture patients

In this real-world retrospective cohort, subsequent hip fracture occurred in one in four patients with any initial fracture, most often after hip fracture, on average within 1.5 years. These data support the need for early post-fracture interventions to help reduce imminent hip fracture risk and high societal and humanistic costs.

PURPOSE

This large retrospective cohort study aimed to provide hip fracture data, in the context of other fractures, to help inform efforts related to hip fracture prevention focusing on post-fracture patients.

METHODS

A cohort of 115,776 patients (72.3% female) aged > 65 (median age 81) with an index fracture occurring at skeletal sites related to age-related bone loss between January 1, 2011, and March 31, 2015, was identified using health services data from Ontario, Canada, and followed until March 31, 2017.

RESULTS

Hip fracture was the most common second fracture (27.8%), occurring in ≥ 19% of cases after each index fracture site and most frequently (33.0%) after hip index fracture. Median time to a second fracture of the hip was ~ 1.5 years post-index event. Patients with index hip fracture contributed the most to fracture-related initial surgeries (64.1%) and post-surgery complications (71.9%) and had the second-highest total mean healthcare cost per patient in the first year after index fracture ($62,793 ± 44,438). One-year mortality (any cause) after index hip fracture was 26.2% vs. 15.9% in the entire cohort, and 25.9% after second hip fracture.

CONCLUSION

A second fracture at the hip was observed in one in four patients after any index fracture and in one in three patients with an index hip fracture, on average within 1.5 years. Index hip fracture was associated with high mortality and post-surgery complication rates and healthcare costs relative to other fractures. These data support focusing on early hip fracture prevention efforts in post-fracture patients.

Variations in hip fracture inpatient care in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan: an analysis of health administrative data

BACKGROUND

Little is known about hip fracture inpatient care in East Asia. This study examined the characteristics of patients, hospitals, and regions associated with delivery of hip fracture surgeries across Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. We also analyzed and compared how the resource use and a short-term outcome of the care in index hospitals varied according to factors in the respective health systems.

METHODS

We developed comparable, nationwide, individual-level health insurance claims datasets linked with hospital- and regional-level statistics across the health systems using common protocols. Generalized linear multi-level analyses were conducted on length of stay (LOS) and total cost of index hospitalization as well as inpatient death.

RESULTS

The majority of patients were female and aged 75 or older. The standardized LOS of the hospitalization for hip fracture surgery was 32.5 (S.D. = 18.7) days in Japan, 24.7 (S.D. = 12.4) days in Korea, and 7.1 (S.D. = 2.9) days in Taiwan. The total cost per admission also widely varied across the systems. Hospitals with a high volume of hip fracture surgeries had a lower LOS across all three systems, while other factors associated with LOS and total cost varied across countries.

CONCLUSION

There were wide variations in resource use for hip fracture surgery in the index hospital within and across the three health systems with similar social health insurance schemes in East Asia. Further investigations into the large variations are necessary, along with efforts to overcome the methodological challenges of international comparisons of health system performance.

Primary hemiarthroplasty after unstable trochanteric fracture in elderly patients: mortality, readmission and reoperation

Background

Most unstable trochanteric fractures are treated with internal fixation and often with high complication rates. Hemiarthroplasty might be an alternative method in difficult condition, especially in unstable comminuted fracture in fragile bone. However, few have investigated the long-term outcomes after hemiarthroplasty for unstable trochanteric fracture. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of trochanteric fracture after primary hemiarthroplasty using competing risk analysis on their long-term outcomes, including mortality, readmission and reoperation.

Methods

We studied a total of 2798 patients over 60 years old, with a mean age of 79 years, of which 68% are females and 67.23% have at least one comorbidity. They underwent a hemiarthroplasty for unstable trochanteric fracture during the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2010 and were follow-up until the end of 2012, or death. Survival analysis and Cox model were used to characterize mortality. Competing risk analysis and Fine and Gray model were used to estimate the cumulative incidences of the first readmission and the first reoperation.

Results

The follow-up mortality rate for 1-year was 17.94%; 2-year, 29.76%; 5-year, 56.8%; and 10-year, 83.38%. The cumulative incidence of the first readmission was 16.4% for 1-year and 22.44% for 3-year. The cumulative incidence of the first reoperation was 13.87% for 1-year, 18.11% for 2-year, 25.79% for 5-year, and 38.24% for 10-year. Male gender, older age, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and lower insured amount were all risk factors for the overall mortality. Older age and higher CCI were risk factors for the first readmission. Older age was a protective factor for reoperation, which is likely due to the competing death.

Conclusions

The mortality and revision rates after hemiarthroplasty for unstable trochanteric fracture are acceptable as a salvage procedure for this fragile sub-population.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12891-021-04277-7.

Utilization Rates of Pancreatectomy, Radical Prostatectomy, and Nephrectomy in New York, Ontario, and New South Wales, 2011 to 2018

Importance

Few studies have compared surgical utilization between countries or how rates may differ according to patients' socioeconomic status.

Objective

To compare population-level utilization of 3 common nonemergent surgical procedures in New York State (US), Ontario (Canada), and New South Wales (Australia) and how utilization differs for residents of lower- and higher-income neighborhoods.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cohort study included all adults aged 18 years and older who were hospitalized for pancreatectomy, radical prostatectomy, or nephrectomy between 2011 and 2016 in New York, between 2011 and 2018 in Ontario, and between 2013 and 2018 in New South Wales. Each patient's address of residence was linked to 2016 census data to ascertain neighborhood income. Data were analyzed from August 2019 to November 2020.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Primary outcomes were (1) each jurisdiction's per capita age- and sex-standardized utilization rates (procedures per 100 000 residents per year) for each surgery and (2) utilization rates among residents of lower- and higher-income neighborhoods.

Results

This study included 115 428 surgical patients (25 780 [22.3%] women); 5717, 21 752, and 24 617 patients in New York were hospitalized for pancreatectomy, radical prostatectomy, and nephrectomy, respectively; 4929, 19 125, and 16 916 patients in Ontario, respectively; and 2069, 13 499, and 6804 patients in New South Wales, respectively. Patients in New South Wales were older for all procedures (eg, radical prostatectomy, mean [SD] age in New South Wales, 64.8 [7.3] years; in New York, 62.7 [8.4] years; in Ontario, 62.8 [6.7] years; P < .001); patients in New York were more likely than those in other locations to be women for pancreatectomy (New York: 2926 [51.2%]; Ontario: 2372 [48.1%]; New South Wales, 1003 [48.5%]; P = .004) and nephrectomy (New York: 10 645 [43.2%]; Ontario: 6529 [38.6%]; 2605 [38.3%]; P < .001). With the exception of nephrectomy in Ontario, there was a higher annual utilization rate for all procedures in all jurisdictions among patients residing in affluent neighborhoods (quintile 5) compared with poorer neighborhoods (quintile 1). This difference was largest in New South Wales for pancreatectomy (4.65 additional procedures per 100 000 residents [SE, 0.28]; P < .001) and radical prostatectomy (73.46 additional procedures per 100 000 residents [SE, 1.20]; P < .001); largest in New York for nephrectomy (8.43 additional procedures per 100 000 residents [SE, 0.85]; P < .001) and smallest in New York for radical prostatectomy (19.70 additional procedures per 100 000 residents [SE, 2.63]; P < .001); and smallest in Ontario for pancreatectomy (1.15 additional procedures per 100 000 residents [SE, 0.28]; P < .001) and nephrectomy (-1.10 additional procedures per 100 000 residents [SE, 0.52]; P < .001). New York had the highest utilization of nephrectomy (28.93 procedures per 100 000 residents per year [SE, 0.18]) and New South Wales for had the highest utilization of pancreatectomy and radical prostatectomy (6.94 procedures per 100 000 residents per year [SE, 0.15] and 94.37 procedures per 100 000 residents per year [SE, 0.81], respectively; all P < .001). Utilization was lowest in Ontario for all procedures (pancreatectomy, 6.18 procedures per 100 000 residents per year [SE, 0.09]; radical prostatectomy, 49.24 procedures per 100 000 residents per year [SE, 0.36]; nephrectomy, 21.40 procedures per 100 000 residents per year [SE, 0.16]; all P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this study, New York and New South Wales had higher per capita surgical utilization and larger neighborhood income-utilization gradients than Ontario. These findings suggest that income-based disparities are larger in the United States and Australia and smaller in Canada and highlight trade-offs inherent in the health care systems of different countries.

The Irish dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) Health Informatics Prediction (HIP) for Osteoporosis Project

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Irish dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) Health Informatics Prediction (HIP) for Osteoporosis Project is to create a large retrospective cohort of adults in Ireland to examine the validity of DXA diagnostic classification, risk assessment tools and management strategies for osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures for our population.

PARTICIPANTS

The cohort includes 36 590 men and women aged 4-104 years who had a DXA scan between January 2000 and November 2018 at one of 3 centres in the West of Ireland.

FINDINGS TO DATE

36 590 patients had at least 1 DXA scan, 6868 (18.77%) had 2 scans and 3823 (10.45%) had 3 or more scans. There are 364 unique medical disorders, 186 unique medications and 46 DXA variables identified and available for analysis. The cohort includes 10 349 (28.3%) individuals who underwent a screening DXA scan without a clear fracture risk factor (other than age), and 9947 (27.2%) with prevalent fractures at 1 of 44 skeletal sites.

FUTURE PLANS

The Irish DXA HIP Project plans to assess current diagnostic classification and risk prediction algorithms for osteoporosis and fractures, identify the risk predictors for osteoporosis and develop novel, accurate and personalised risk prediction tools, by using the large multicentre longitudinal follow-up cohort. Furthermore, the dataset may be used to assess, and possibly support, multimorbidity management due to the large number of variables collected in this project.

Is it feasible to implement a rapid recovery pathway for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients undergoing posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion in a single-payer universal health care system?

PURPOSE

The purpose of this project was to determine if it is feasible to implement a rapid recovery pathway (RRP) for the surgical treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) within a single-payer universal healthcare system while simultaneously decreasing length of stay (LOS) without increasing post-operative complications.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was completed for all patients who underwent posterior spinal fusion for AIS at a tertiary children's hospital in Canada between March 2010 and February 2019, with date of implementation of the RRP being March 1st, 2015. Patient demographic information was collected along with a variety of outcome variables including: LOS, wound complication, infection, 30-day return to the OR, 30-day emergency department visit, and 30-day hospital readmission. An interrupted time series analysis was utilized to determine if any benefits were associated with the implementation of the RRP.

RESULTS

A total of 244 patients were identified, with 113 patients in the conventional pathway and 131 in the RRP. No significant differences in demographic features or post-operative complications were found between the two cohorts (p > 0.05). Using a robust linear time series model, LOS was found to be significantly shorter in the RRP group, with the average LOS being 5.2 [95% IQR 4.3-6.1] days in the conventional group and 3.4 [95% IQR 3.3-3.5] days in the RRP group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study shows that it is possible to implement a RRP for the surgical treatment of AIS within a single-payer universal healthcare system. Use of the pathway can effectively reduce hospital LOS without increasing the risk of developing a post-operative complication. This has the upside potential to reduce healthcare and family costs.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic III.

Utilization of Advanced Cardiovascular Therapies in the United States and Canada: An Observational Study of New York and Ontario Administrative Data

BACKGROUND

Endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR), left ventricular assist device (LVAD), and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are expensive cardiovascular technologies with potential to benefit large numbers of patients. There are few population-based studies comparing utilization between countries. Our objective was to compare patient characteristics and utilization patterns of EVAR, LVAD, and TAVR in Ontario, Canada, and New York State, United States.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We performed a retrospective cohort study using administrative data to identify all adults who received EVAR, LVAD, or TAVR in Ontario and New York between 2012 and 2015. We compared socio-demographics of EVAR, LVAD, and TAVR recipients in Ontario and New York. We compared standardized utilization rates between jurisdictions for each procedure. We identified 3295 EVAR recipients from Ontario and 6236 from New York (mean age 74.6 versus 74.5 years; P=0.61): 136 LVAD recipients from Ontario and 686 from New York (age, 57.4 versus 57.7 years; P=0.80): 1708 TAVR recipients from Ontario and 4838 from New York (age, 83.1 versus 83.1; P=1.0). A significantly smaller percentage of EVAR and TAVR recipients in Ontario were female compared to New York (EVAR, 15.8% versus 22.1% female; P<0.001; TAVR, 45.9% versus 51.8%; P<0.001), but for LVAD the percentage female was similar (21.3% versus 20.8%; P=0.99). Utilization was significantly higher in New York for all procedures: EVAR (12.8 procedures per-100 000 adults per-year in Ontario, 20.2 in New York; P<0.001); LVAD (0.3 in Ontario versus 1.3 in New York; P<0.001); and TAVR (6.6 in Ontario, 14.3 in New York; P<0.001). Higher utilization of EVAR and TAVR in New York relative to Ontario increased substantially with increasing age.

CONCLUSIONS

We observed significantly higher utilization of EVAR, LVAD, and TAVR in New York compared to Ontario. Our results highlight important differences in how 2 different countries are using advanced cardiovascular therapies.

Utilization and Outcomes for Spine Surgery in the United States and Canada

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine variation in spine surgery utilization between the province of Ontario and state of New York among all patients and pre-specified patient subgroups.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Spine surgery is common and costly. Within-country variation in utilization is well studied, but there has been little exploration of variation in spine surgery utilization between countries.

METHODS

We used population-level administrative data from Ontario (years 2011-2015) and New York (2011-2014) to identify all adults who underwent inpatient spinal decompression or fusion surgery using relevant procedure codes. Patients were stratified according to age and surgical urgency (elective vs. emergent). We calculated standardized utilization rates (procedures per-10,000 population per year) for each jurisdiction. We compared Ontario and New York with respect to patient demographics and the percentage of hospitals performing spine surgery. We compared utilization rates of spinal decompression and fusion surgery in Ontario and New York among all patients and after stratifying by surgical urgency and patient age.

RESULTS

Patients in Ontario were older than patients in New York for both decompression (mean age 58.8 vs. 51.3 years; P < 0.001) and fusion (58.1 vs. 54.9; P < 0.001). A smaller percentage of hospitals in Ontario than New York performed decompression (26.1% vs. 54.9%; P < 0.001) or fusion (15.2% vs. 56.7%; P < 0.001). Overall, utilization of spine surgery (decompression plus fusion) in Ontario was 6.6 procedures per-10,000 population per-year and in New York was 16.5 per-10,000 per-year (P < 0.001). Ontario-New York differences in utilization were smaller for emergent cases (2.0 per 10,000 in Ontario vs. 2.5 in New York; P < 0.001), but larger for elective cases (4.6 vs. 13.9; P < 0.001). The lower utilization in Ontario was particularly large among younger patients (age <60 years).

CONCLUSION

We found significantly lower utilization of spine surgery in Ontario than in New York. These differences should inform policy reforms in both jurisdictions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3.