Year-round consistency in upper extremity trauma surgery in Florida: challenging the concept of “trauma season”: a retrospective study

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.