Analysis code, data and Eurostat source snapshots for "Care setting does not explain admission volume for intervertebral disc disorders: a cross-country comparative analysis of 28 European countries, 2023"

Data, analysis code and dated checksummed snapshots of the Eurostat source cells underlying a cross-country comparison of hospital admissions for intervertebral disc disorders (ICD-10 M50-M51) across 28 European countries in 2023. The analysis separates two quantities that published discharge indicators conflate: the setting in which care is delivered, in-patient or day case, and the number of episodes a system generates. Across the 28 countries the day-case share ranges from 0.0% to 57.3% and is uncorrelated with the total episode rate (Spearman rho -0.10). The archive includes a Bulgarian national discharge extract with four-character diagnostic detail, released by the National Centre of Public Health and Analyses under the Bulgarian Access to Public Information Act by decision izh. No 2097 of 20 July 2026. It contains aggregated cell counts only, with no patient identifier, no individual-level record, no procedure codes and no secondary diagnoses. The archive also documents a defect in the published Eurostat rate series, in which the rate for the 50-54 age band is computed on the population aged 45-54 in every one of the 31 reporting countries, so that every published rate for that band is understated by approximately a factor of two. The evidence directory holds dated SHA-256-checksummed snapshots of the four Eurostat cells that finding rests on, retrieved 30 July 2026, because the dissemination series is live and may be revised without notice. All code runs on the Python standard library with no credentials and no third-party packages except matplotlib for the figures. The script hp_display_items.py re-derives all nine headline values reported in the accompanying manuscript and exits non-zero if any fails to reproduce. See README.md for full provenance and for three reuse caveats: bed-days include the day of admission, the district field records the treating facility rather than the patient's residence, and the transfer field is unused.