Current Trends in Demographics, Practice, and In-Hospital Outcomes in Cervical Spine Surgery

This study demonstrates that the number of cervical spine procedures has increased between 2002 and 2011, irrespective of the change in BMP utilization after the 2008 Food and Drug Administration warning. Despite an older patient population with greater comorbidities undergoing cervical spine surgeries, hospital length of stay and mortality has not significantly changed. However, we did note a significant increase in costs during this time period. These findings may be related to advances in surgical technology and instrumentation that may be associated with rising hospital costs.