Delayed surgery among patients diagnosed with spinal disorders: Retrospective analysis.

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Health services research
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Spinal cord disorders represent a significant health burden.
• Access to timely healthcare services is crucial for effective treatment.
• Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare are a persistent concern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between patient race/ethnicity and access to spine surgery.
• To analyze time to surgery for spinal cord disorder patients across different racial and ethnic groups.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 56,186 patients diagnosed with spinal cord disorders.
• Data collected from two Boston hospitals between September 2017 and December 2019.
• Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models used to analyze time to surgery.

Main Results:

• Patients identifying as Asian, Black, Hispanic, or Other experienced significantly longer times to spine surgery compared to White patients.
• Hazard ratios (HR) for time to surgery were lower for all non-White groups (e.g., Hispanic HR 0.43).
• Significant disparities in surgical access were observed across racial and ethnic lines.

Conclusions:

• Racial and ethnic minority groups face delays in receiving spine surgery for spinal cord disorders.
• These findings highlight systemic inequities in healthcare access and delivery.
• Further research is needed to address and mitigate these disparities in orthopedic care.