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Race linked with differences in outcomes of care for cervical spine fractures
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Compared with white patients, results of this study found minority patients with cervical spine fractures had higher mortality and complication rates.
“Our results reinforce the fact that efforts at universal access to care may be insufficient to reduce differences in care among minority patients following cervical trauma. Future mixed-methods research is necessary to more effectively evaluate the etiologies behind health care disparities associated with race in different health care environments,” the researchers wrote.
Researchers performed a retrospective review using the Massachusetts Statewide Inpatient Dataset and identified 10,841patients with cervical spine fractures. Investigators used the chi-square test and the Wilcoxon rank sum test to determine baseline differences between white and non-white patients. Investigators also adjusted their findings for confounding variables, such as whether surgery was performed, and conducted subset analyses to assess whether outcomes were different for treatment at an academic medical center.
Results showed non-white and white patients did not have significantly different rates of surgical intervention. However, investigators noted non-white patients had a significant increase in length of stay, mortality and complications compared with white patients. In addition, non-white patients had a significantly greater chance of being treated at an academic medical center compared with white patients. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosures: Schoenfeld reports he receives a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, personal fees from Arbometrix and royalties from Wolters Kluwer. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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