Perceptions of overlapping surgery in neurosurgery based on practice volume: A multi-institutional survey

Complication rate of overlapping versus nonoverlapping functional and stereotactic surgery: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Overlapping surgery, in which one attending surgeon manages two overlapping operating rooms (ORs) and is present for all the critical portions of each procedure, is an important policy that improves healthcare access for patients and case volumes for surgeons and surgical trainees. Despite several studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of overlapping neurosurgical operations, the practice of overlapping surgery remains controversial. To date, there are no studies that have investigated long-term complication rates of overlapping functional and stereotactic neurosurgical procedures. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the 1-year complication rates and OR times for nonoverlapping versus overlapping functional procedures. The secondary objective was to gain insight into what types of complications are the most prevalent and test for differences between groups.

METHODS

Seven hundred eighty-three functional neurosurgical cases were divided into two cohorts, nonoverlapping (n = 342) and overlapping (n = 441). The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scale score was used to compare the preoperative risk for both cohorts. A complication was defined as any surgically related reason that required readmission, reoperation, or an unplanned emergency department or clinic visit that required intervention. Complications were subdivided into infectious and noninfectious. Chi-square tests, independent-samples t-tests, and uni- and multivariable logistic regressions were used to determine significance.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in mean ASA scale score (2.7 ± 0.6 for both groups, p = 0.997) or overall complication rates (8.8% nonoverlapping vs 9.8% overlapping, p = 0.641) between the two cohorts. Infections accounted for the highest percentage of complications in both cohorts (46.6% vs 41.8%, p = 0.686). There were no statistically significant differences between mean in-room OR time (187.5 ± 141.7 minutes vs 197.1 ± 153.0 minutes, p = 0.373) or mean open-to-close time (112.2 ± 107.9 minutes vs 121.0 ± 123.1 minutes, p = 0.300) between nonoverlapping and overlapping cases.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no increased risk of 1-year complications or increased OR time for overlapping functional and stereotactic neurosurgical procedures compared with nonoverlapping procedures.

Outcomes of epilepsy surgery in the older population: not too old, not too late

OBJECTIVE

The prevalence of epilepsy in the older adult population is increasing. While surgical intervention in younger patients is supported by level I evidence, the safety and efficacy of epilepsy surgery in older individuals is less well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate seizure freedom rates and surgical outcomes in older epilepsy patients.

METHODS

The authors' institutional electronic database was queried for patients older than 50 who had undergone epilepsy surgery during 2002-2018. Cases were grouped into 50-59, 60-69, and 70+ years old. Seizure freedom at the last follow-up constituted the primary outcome of interest. The institutional analysis was supplemented by a literature review and meta-analysis (random effects model) of all published studies on this topic as well as by an analysis of complication rates, mortality rates, and cost data from a nationwide administrative database (Vizient Inc., years 2016-2019).

RESULTS

A total of 73 patients (n = 16 for 50-59 years, n = 47 for 60-69, and n = 10 for 70+) were treated at the authors' institution. The median age was 63 years, and 66% of the patients were female. At a median follow-up of 24 months, seizure freedom was 73% for the overall cohort, 63% for the 50-59 group, 77% for the 60-69 group, and 70% for the 70+ group. The literature search identified 15 additional retrospective studies (474 cases). Temporal lobectomy was the most commonly performed procedure (73%), and mesial temporal sclerosis was the most common pathology (52%), followed by nonspecific gliosis (19%). The pooled mean follow-up was 39 months (range 6-114.8 months) with a pooled seizure freedom rate of 65% (95% CI 59%-72%). On multivariable meta-regression analysis, an older mean age at surgery (coefficient [coeff] 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-3.1, p < 0.001) and the presence of mesial temporal sclerosis (coeff 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.6, p = 0.015) were the most important predictors of seizure freedom. Finally, analysis of the Vizient database revealed mortality rates of 0.5%, 1.1%, and 9.6%; complication rates of 7.1%, 10.1%, and 17.3%; and mean hospital costs of $31,977, $34,586, and $40,153 for patients aged 50-59, 60-69, and 70+ years, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

While seizure-free outcomes of epilepsy surgery are excellent, there is an expected increase in morbidity and mortality with increasing age. Findings in this study on the safety and efficacy of epilepsy surgery in the older population may serve as a useful guide during preoperative decision-making and patient counseling.

Impact of medicaid expansion on disparities in revascularization in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction

INTRODUCTION

Blacks are more likely to live in poverty and be uninsured, and are less likely to undergo revascularization after am acute myocardial infarction compared to whites. The objective of this study was to determine whether Medicaid expansion was associated with a reduction in revascularization disparities in patients admitted with an acute myocardial infarction.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis study using data (2010-2018) from hospitals participating in the University Health Systems Consortium, now renamed the Vizient Clinical Database. Comparative interrupted time series analysis was used to compare changes in the use of revascularization therapies (PCI and CABG) in white versus non-Hispanic black patients hospitalized with either ST-segment elevation (STEMI) or non-ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarctions (NSTEMI) after Medicaid expansion.

RESULTS

The analytic cohort included 68,610 STEMI and 127,378 NSTEMI patients. The percentage point decrease in the uninsured rate for STEMIs and NSTEMIs was greater for blacks in expansion states compared to whites in expansion states. For patients with STEMIs, differences in black versus white revascularization rates decreased by 2.09 percentage points per year (95% CI, 0.29-3.88, P = 0.023) in expansion versus non-expansion states after adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics. Black patients hospitalized with STEMI in non-expansion states experienced a 7.24 percentage point increase in revascularization rate in 2014 (95% CI, 2.83-11.7, P < 0.001) but did not experience significant annual percentage point increases in the rate of revascularization in subsequent years (1.52; 95% CI, -0.51-3.55, P = 0.14) compared to whites in non-expansion states. Medicaid expansion was not associated with changes in the revascularization rate for either blacks or whites hospitalized with NSTEMIs.

CONCLUSION

Medicaid expansion was associated with greater reductions in the number of uninsured blacks compared to uninsured whites. Medicaid expansion was not associated, however, with a reduction in revascularization disparities between black and white patients admitted with acute myocardial infarctions.