Weissert Joleen, Vieira Rebecca, White Claire, Feldman Lanna, Hannon Megan
Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
J Pediatr Soc North Am. 2025 May 27;12:100201. doi: 10.1016/j.jposna.2025.100201. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Pediatric orthopaedic medicine (alternatively/formerly known as non-operative pediatric orthopaedics, NOPO) is an emerging specialty within orthopedics with limited published descriptive studies. This is a retrospective descriptive study of all patient encounters managed by three pediatric orthopedic medicine physicians at a single institution over a five-year period (2019-2024).
Data from an internal hospital database were analyzed to determine the volume of patients seen, diagnoses managed, and surgical referral patterns. A total of 31,216 patient encounters were analyzed.
The top diagnoses managed by this group include: acute fracture (all body locations) 24.8% (n=15,019), scoliosis 10.9% (n=6,713), abnormal gait and mobility 7.9% (n=4,558), lower limb alignment 6.9% (n=4,176), joint disorders 6.9% (n=4,135), congenital hip deformities 5.9 % (n=3,453), congenital foot deformities 4% (n=2,442), pain, soft tissue 4% (n= 2,326), developmental delay 4 % (n=2,147), and dorsalgia 2% (n=1,173). Of the unique patients in the dataset 96% were managed medically and 4% had surgery related to their initial diagnosis. The top surgical procedures were: knee surgeries (14.8%), upper extremity pinning/reduction (14.6%), spinal fusion (7%), hip open/closed reduction (6.2%), Achilles lengthening (6.2%), Botox/phenol injection (5.9%), and lower extremity epiphysiodesis (3%).
Data from this study provide insight into the unique role pediatric orthopedic medicine physicians play in the pediatric orthopedic community and can help guide curriculum development for future trainees.
(1)Pediatric orthopaedic medicine is an emerging specialty within orthopaedics with limited published descriptive studies.(2)Pediatric orthopaedic medicine physicians manage a wide range of orthopaedic conditions traditionally managed by surgical colleagues.(3)In an increasingly specialized pediatric orthopaedic workforce, pediatric orthopaedic medicine physicians can serve as a medical home for many nonsurgical orthopaedic conditions.(4)A formal curriculum for pediatric orthopaedic medicine training should be developed with a goal toward ACGME accreditation of fellowships.
Retrospective cohort study.
小儿骨科医学（也称为非手术小儿骨科，NOPO）是骨科领域中一个新兴的专业，已发表的描述性研究有限。这是一项回顾性描述性研究，研究对象为一家机构的三名小儿骨科医学医生在五年期间（2019 - 2024年）诊治的所有患者。
分析医院内部数据库中的数据，以确定就诊患者数量、诊断的疾病以及手术转诊模式。共分析了31,216例患者就诊情况。
该组医生诊治的主要疾病包括：急性骨折（全身各部位）24.8%（n = 15,019）、脊柱侧弯10.9%（n = 6,713）、异常步态和活动能力7.9%（n = 4,558）、下肢对线6.9%（n = 4,176）、关节疾病6.9%（n = 4,135）、先天性髋关节畸形5.9%（n = 3,453）、先天性足部畸形4%（n = 2,442）、疼痛（软组织）4%（n = 2,326）、发育迟缓4%（n = 2,147）以及背痛2%（n = 1,173）。数据集中96%的独特患者接受了药物治疗，4%的患者进行了与初始诊断相关的手术。主要手术包括：膝关节手术（14.8%）、上肢穿针/复位（14.6%）、脊柱融合术（7%）、髋关节开放/闭合复位（6.2%）、跟腱延长术（6.2%）、肉毒杆菌毒素/苯酚注射（5.9%）以及下肢骨骺阻滞术（3%）。
本研究数据揭示了小儿骨科医学医生在小儿骨科领域所发挥的独特作用，并有助于指导未来实习生的课程开发。
（1）小儿骨科医学是骨科领域中一个新兴的专业，已发表的描述性研究有限。（2）小儿骨科医学医生处理传统上由外科同事处理的多种骨科疾病。（3）在日益专业化的小儿骨科医疗队伍中，小儿骨科医学医生可为许多非手术骨科疾病提供医疗服务。（4）应制定小儿骨科医学培训的正式课程，目标是获得毕业后医学教育认证委员会（ACGME）对 fellowship 的认证。
回顾性队列研究。
