Abstract
Purpose: Upper extremity (UE) trauma requiring surgery in the United States typically peaks during the summer and fall; however, Florida’s climate may create a distinct temporal pattern. This study analyzes year-round UE trauma surgery volumes at a South Florida academic medical center to explore the potential impact of environmental factors.Methods: Current Procedural Terminology (CPT; standardized codes used to report medical and surgical procedures) databases were analyzed to identify acute UE trauma codes over a 132-month period, and surgical volume was tabulated accordingly. Raw data were plotted as a time series and subsequently converted to a moving average ratio. Autocorrelation analysis was performed to assess yearly periodicity, and multivariable modeling evaluated variability attributable to this periodicity. A subanalysis examined periodicity across three predefined age groups.Results: A total of 5,924 CPT codes were included in the analysis. The highest monthly volume of UE trauma–related CPT codes occurred in March (49.5 codes per month), whereas the lowest volume occurred in June (41.7 codes per month), yielding a difference of 7.8 codes. No consistent patterns were observed with respect to higher case volumes by specific months or seasons. Time series analysis across the 132-month period demonstrated an overall trend of volume growth without evidence of annual fluctuation. Autocorrelation analysis revealed no yearly periodicity in UE trauma CPT volumes, including after weekend-specific subanalysis. In age-stratified models, results remained nonsignificant: 18–44 years (R2=0.10, P=0.401), 45–64 years (R2=0.10, P=0.369), and ≥65 years (R2=0.13, P=0.133).Conclusions: UE trauma operations were consistently distributed throughout the year, with no distinct periodic fluctuations identified across weekends or age groups in Florida. These findings suggest that weather-related factors may contribute to the seasonal patterns observed in other geographic regions.