Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40478417›Full record

ArticleSpine deformity2025

Racial disparities in pediatric spinal fusion surgery affect perioperative outcomes: a national multicenter study.

Alden H Newcomb, Haseeb E Goheer, Christopher G Hendrix, Amanda W Hayes, W Garret Burks, Jonathan J Carmouche

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Spine deformity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Alden H NewcombDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences, Carilion Clinic, 2331 Franklin Road Southwest, Roanoke, VA, 24014, USA.
Haseeb E GoheerVirginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, 2 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, VA, 24016, USA.
Christopher G HendrixDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences, Carilion Clinic, 2331 Franklin Road Southwest, Roanoke, VA, 24014, USA.
Amanda W HayesDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
W Garret BurksDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences, Carilion Clinic, 2331 Franklin Road Southwest, Roanoke, VA, 24014, USA.
Jonathan J CarmoucheDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences, Carilion Clinic, 2331 Franklin Road Southwest, Roanoke, VA, 24014, USA. jjcarmouche@carilionclinic.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3473-5203

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of race and ethnic differences in perioperative outcomes and short-term complications in patients undergoing pediatric spinal fusion surgery.

methodsA retrospective cohort study was performed using prospectively collected data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP-Pediatric) Pediatric database merged with the Pediatric Spinal Fusion Procedure Targeted database from 2016 to 2022 to identify pediatric patients under 18 years who had undergone any spinal fusion procedure for scoliosis using Common Procedural Terminology codes. The study population was divided into four cohorts (1) White (2) Black (3) Asian and (4) Other or Unknown. One-way ANOVA for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical variables were used to identify differences in perioperative variables between the four groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis assessed the effect of race on perioperative surgical and medical complications, extended hospital length of stay, and intensive care unit stay (ICU). Significance was defined as p < 0.05.

resultsA total of 39,666 pediatric spinal fusion patients were identified between 2016 and 2022, of which 25, 521 were White, 6007 were Black, 1342 were Asian, and 6796 were unknown or other. Black and Asian patients experienced significantly higher rates of postoperative medical complications at 75.70 and 74.52%, compared with 69.03% for White patients (p < 0.001). Both Black [OR: 1.383, 95% CI (1.292-1.481)] and Asian [OR: 1.320, 95% CI (1.157-1.509)] patients had an independently increased risk for medical complications, whereas only Black patients had an increased risk for ICU stay [OR: 1.222, 95% CI (1.143-1.306)] complications following a multivariate logistic regression analysis (p < 0.001).

conclusionsThis study provides evidence of racial disparities in outcomes after pediatric spine surgery, even after controlling for demographic and health factors. Pediatric Black and Asian patients undergoing pediatric spinal fusion have a significantly higher risk of postoperative medical complications compared with White patients. These findings emphasize the need to focus on identifying the root cause and ways to reduce racial disparities in pediatric spine surgery. The present study brings awareness to the disparity in the pediatric spine population and is useful as we work towards the reduction in such disparities and their root causes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.

Indexed as

Healthcare DisparitiesPostoperative ComplicationsRacial GroupsScoliosisSpinal FusionAdolescentChildFemaleHumansLength of StayMaleRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeUnited StatesComplicationPediatricRacial disparitiesScoliosisSpinal deformity

Identifiers

PMID40478417
PMCPMC12402043

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.