Data from: Large regional differences in incidence of arthroscopic meniscal procedures in the public and private sector in Denmark

Objectives A recent study reported a large increase in the number of meniscal procedures from 2000 to 2011 in Denmark.. We examined the nation-wide distribution of meniscal procedures performed in the private and public sector in Denmark since different incentives may be present and the use of these procedures may differ from region to region. Setting We included data on all patients who underwent an arthroscopic meniscal procedures performed in the public or private sector in Denmark. Participants Data was retrieved from the Danish National Patient Register on patients who underwent arthroscopic meniscus surgery as a primary or secondary procedure in the years 2000 to 2011. Hospital identification codes enabled linkage of performed procedures to specific hospitals. Primary and secondary outcome measures Yearly incidence of meniscal procedures per 100 000 inhabitants were calculated with 95 % confidence intervals for public and private procedures for each region. Results Incidence of meniscal procedures increased at both private and public hospitals. The private sector accounted for the largest relative and absolute increase increasing from an incidence of 1 in 2000 to 98 in 2011. In 2011 the incidence of meniscal procedures was 3 times higher in the Capital Region than in Region Zealand. Conclusions Our study identified a large increase in the use of meniscal procedures in the public and private sector in Denmark. The increase was particularly conspicuous in the private sector as their proportion of procedures performed increased from 1% to 32%. Substantial regional differences were present in the incidence and trend over time of meniscal procedures.研究目的：近期一项研究报道，2000年至2011年间丹麦的半月板手术（meniscal procedures）数量大幅增长。本研究旨在考察丹麦公立与私立医疗机构开展的半月板手术的全国分布情况，因不同医疗体系可能存在不同激励机制，且各地区的手术使用情况或存在差异。 研究设置：本研究纳入了丹麦境内所有在公立或私立医疗机构接受关节镜下半月板手术（arthroscopic meniscal procedures）的患者相关数据。 研究对象与数据获取：本研究数据提取自丹麦国家患者登记库（Danish National Patient Register），纳入2000至2011年间以主要或次要手术身份接受关节镜下半月板手术的患者信息。医院识别编码可将实施的手术与特定医疗机构进行关联。 主要与次要结局指标：本研究计算了各地区公立与私立半月板手术每10万人口的年发病率，并给出95%置信区间（confidence intervals）。 研究结果：公立与私立医院的半月板手术发病率均呈上升趋势。私立医疗机构的相对与绝对增幅均最为显著，其发病率从2000年的每10万人口1例增长至2011年的98例。2011年，首都大区（Capital Region）的半月板手术发病率较西兰大区（Region Zealand）高出2倍。 研究结论：本研究证实，丹麦公立与私立医疗机构的半月板手术使用量均大幅增长，其中私立医疗机构的增长尤为突出，其手术占比从1%提升至32%。此外，不同地区的半月板手术发病率及随时间变化的趋势均存在显著差异。