Disparities in Rates of Spine Surgery for Degenerative Spine Disease Between HIV-Infected and Uninfected Veterans
King JT, Gordon AJ, Perkal MF, Crystal S, Rosenthal RA, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Butt AA, Gibert CL, Rimland D, Simberkoff MS, Justice AC. Disparities in Rates of Spine Surgery for Degenerative Spine Disease Between HIV-Infected and Uninfected Veterans. Spine 2012, 37: 612-622. PMID: 21697770, PMCID: PMC4507821, DOI: 10.1097/brs.0b013e318228f32d.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDegenerative spine diseaseVeterans Health AdministrationSpine diseaseSpine surgeryHealth AdministrationUninfected patientsCommon surgical sitesNinth Revision procedureSpine surgery ratesSurgical referral patternsCombination antiretroviral therapyHIV infection statusViral load levelsRisk-benefit ratioMultivariate Poisson regressionImpact of HIVComparator patientsUninfected veteransAntiretroviral therapyHIV infectionPrimary outcomeSpinal decompressionReferral patternsSurgery ratesDiagnosis codes