• Doohyun Hong, Yu-Cheol Lim, Sook-Hyun Lee, Won-Suk Sung, Yoon Jae Lee, Eun-Jung Kim, and In-Hyuk Ha.
• Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Spine. 2022 Jun 15; 47 (12): E499-E506.

Study DesignRetrospective, cross-sectional study.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to analyze types and cost of care for scoliosis and present health care utilization by patients to provide data on the standard treatment and cost for scoliosis in South Korea.Summary Of Background DataScoliosis is defined as an abnormally laterally curved spine with a Cobb angle of ≥10°.Data are lacking on which treatments are popular for general scoliosis and which service categories incur the most cost in South Korea.MethodsData from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patient Sample were used. In total, 108,643 final cases and 32,362 patients in South Korea who received Western medicine care or Korean medicine care at least once with scoliosis (ICD-10 code M41) as the principal diagnosis during January 2010 to December 2018 comprised the study sample. We analyzed health care utilization according to certain factors (e.g., age, sex, payer type, type of visit, and medical institution), health care utilization by service category and service code, and medication prescriptions filled by private or hospital pharmacies.ResultsPatients aged 24 years or younger most frequently utilized health care services, with more female (64.84%) than male patients (35.16%). Most patients received only Western medicine care (92.18%), whereas 6.56% only received Korean medicine care. Most cases (99.37%) corresponded to outpatient. Regarding service category, treatment and surgery, examination, special equipment and radiologic diagnosis accounted for a substantial percentage. Regarding service code, cost of examination, imaging, and physiotherapy comprised a high percentage of Western medicine, whereas cost of examination, acupuncture, and cupping therapy accounted for a high percentage of Korean medicine. The most commonly prescribed medications for scoliosis in pharmacies were anti-inflammatory analgesics (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), antacids, and skeletal muscle relaxers.ConclusionThe findings can be used as foundational data for experts such as health care policymakers, clinicians, and researchers.Level of Evidence: 4.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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