Inpatient Physical Therapy After Orthopedic Lower Extremity Surgery in Children With Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Purpose: To characterize and examine the variability in receipt of inpatient (IP) physical therapy after lower extremity (LE) orthopedic surgery for individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) across hospital-level (region, bed size) and individual characteristics (gender, age, race/ethnicity, insurance type, technology dependency, and surgical burden). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed physical therapy billing data of children with CP who had LE orthopedic surgery from October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2017, from the Pediatric Health Information Services (PHIS) database. Results: Seventy-five percent of individuals received IP physical therapy during the hospital stay. Individuals from the South and West and those who were technology dependent were less likely to receive IP therapy. Those at large hospitals, aged 11 to 14 years, and with a high surgical burden were more likely to receive therapy. Conclusions: Results provide a starting point for future research on the discrepancies of acute physical therapy services in children diagnosed with CP. (Supplemental digital content video abstract available at: http://links.lww.com/PPT/A420)