Incidence of spinal radiculopathy and surgery among 6-17 year olds: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

INTRODUCTION

There are no published population-based data on the incidence of spinal radiculopathies, spine surgeries for radiculopathies, or radicular pain in pediatric populations. We aimed to determine the annual incidence of hospital-based diagnosis of spinal radiculopathy and radicular pain, and related spine surgery among Danes aged 6–17 years from 2007 to 2022. Additionally, we aimed to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of cases, the incidence of surgery, and time to surgery.

METHODS

We analyzed Danish national registry data for all 6–17-year-olds who resided in Denmark between 2007 and 2022. We identified incident cases diagnosed with spinal radiculopathy or radicular pain and those who underwent surgery. We identified cases using ICD-10 codes and surgeries via NOMESCO procedure codes for spine surgeries. Time to surgery was defined as time from initial diagnosis to surgery.

RESULTS

In total, 905 individuals were diagnosed with spinal radiculopathy; the annual incidence ranged from 4.5 per 100,000 in 2018 to 9.3 per 100,000 in 2014. The mean age was 15.2 years and 61% were females. The incidence density of surgery was 18.1 per 1000 person-years (16 individuals [1.8%]). The median time to surgery was 4 days, shorter for females and younger individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

In contrast to adults, spinal radiculopathies and related surgeries are rare among 6–17-year-old Danes. Future studies should investigate whether our findings are consistent with other countries.