1
|
Campbell JM, Yost S, Gautam D, Herich A, Botros D, Slaughter M, Chodakiewitz M, Arain A, Peters A, Richards S, Newman B, Johnson B, Rahimpour S, Shofty B. Delays in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy: A cohort study. Epilepsia 2024; 65:1314-1321. [PMID: 38456604 PMCID: PMC11087196 DOI: 10.1111/epi.17944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Delay in referral for epilepsy surgery of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is associated with decreased quality of life, worse surgical outcomes, and increased risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Understanding the potential causes of delays in referral and treatment is crucial for optimizing the referral and treatment process. We evaluated the treatment intervals, demographics, and clinical characteristics of patients referred for surgical evaluation at our level 4 epilepsy center in the U.S. Intermountain West. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent surgery for DRE between 2012 and 2022. Data collected included patient demographics, DRE diagnosis date, clinical characteristics, insurance status, distance from epilepsy center, date of surgical evaluation, surgical procedure, and intervals between different stages of evaluation. RESULTS Within our cohort of 185 patients with epilepsy (99 female, 53.5%), the mean ± standard deviation (SD) age at surgery was 38.4 ± 11.9 years. In this cohort, 95.7% of patients had received definitive epilepsy surgery (most frequently neuromodulation procedures) and 4.3% had participated in phase 2 intracranial monitoring but had not yet received definitive surgery. The median (1st-3rd quartile) intervals observed were 10.1 (3.8-21.5) years from epilepsy diagnosis to DRE diagnosis, 16.7 (6.5-28.4) years from epilepsy diagnosis to surgery, and 1.4 (0.6-4.0) years from DRE diagnosis to surgery. We observed significantly shorter median times from epilepsy diagnosis to DRE diagnosis (p < .01) and epilepsy diagnosis to surgery (p < .05) in patients who traveled further for treatment. Patients with public health insurance had a significantly longer time from DRE diagnosis to surgery (p < .001). SIGNIFICANCE Both shorter distance traveled to our epilepsy center and public health insurance were predictive of delays in diagnosis and treatment intervals. Timely referral of patients with DRE to specialized epilepsy centers for surgery evaluation is crucial, and identifying key factors that may delay referral is paramount to optimizing surgical outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin M. Campbell
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Samantha Yost
- Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Diwas Gautam
- Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Alysha Herich
- Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - David Botros
- Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Mason Slaughter
- Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Michael Chodakiewitz
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Surgery, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra, Hempstead, New York, USA
- Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Amir Arain
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Angela Peters
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Sindhu Richards
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Blake Newman
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Brian Johnson
- Department of Neurology, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Shervin Rahimpour
- Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Ben Shofty
- Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Drexler R, Ricklefs FL, Ben-Haim S, Rada A, Wörmann F, Cloppenborg T, Bien CG, Simon M, Kalbhenn T, Colon A, Rijkers K, Schijns O, Borger V, Surges R, Vatter H, Rizzi M, de Curtis M, Didato G, Castelli N, Carpentier A, Mathon B, Yasuda CL, Cendes F, Chandra PS, Tripathi M, Clusmann H, Delev D, Guenot M, Haegelen C, Catenoix H, Lang J, Hamer H, Brandner S, Walther K, Hauptmann JS, Jeffree RL, Kegele J, Weinbrenner E, Naros G, Velz J, Krayenbühl N, Onken J, Schneider UC, Holtkamp M, Rössler K, Spyrantis A, Strzelczyk A, Rosenow F, Stodieck S, Alonso-Vanegas MA, Wellmer J, Wehner T, Dührsen L, Gempt J, Sauvigny T. Defining benchmark outcomes for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy surgery: A global multicenter analysis of 1119 cases. Epilepsia 2024; 65:1333-1345. [PMID: 38400789 DOI: 10.1111/epi.17923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Benchmarking has been proposed to reflect surgical quality and represents the highest standard reference values for desirable results. We sought to determine benchmark outcomes in patients after surgery for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). METHODS This retrospective multicenter study included patients who underwent MTLE surgery at 19 expert centers on five continents. Benchmarks were defined for 15 endpoints covering surgery and epilepsy outcome at discharge, 1 year after surgery, and the last available follow-up. Patients were risk-stratified by applying outcome-relevant comorbidities, and benchmarks were calculated for low-risk ("benchmark") cases. Respective measures were derived from the median value at each center, and the 75th percentile was considered the benchmark cutoff. RESULTS A total of 1119 patients with a mean age (range) of 36.7 (1-74) years and a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.1 were included. Most patients (59.2%) underwent anterior temporal lobe resection with amygdalohippocampectomy. The overall rate of complications or neurological deficits was 14.4%, with no in-hospital death. After risk stratification, 377 (33.7%) benchmark cases of 1119 patients were identified, representing 13.6%-72.9% of cases per center and leaving 742 patients in the high-risk cohort. Benchmark cutoffs for any complication, clinically apparent stroke, and reoperation rate at discharge were ≤24.6%, ≤.5%, and ≤3.9%, respectively. A favorable seizure outcome (defined as International League Against Epilepsy class I and II) was reached in 83.6% at 1 year and 79.0% at the last follow-up in benchmark cases, leading to benchmark cutoffs of ≥75.2% (1-year follow-up) and ≥69.5% (mean follow-up of 39.0 months). SIGNIFICANCE This study presents internationally applicable benchmark outcomes for the efficacy and safety of MTLE surgery. It may allow for comparison between centers, patient registries, and novel surgical and interventional techniques.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard Drexler
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Franz L Ricklefs
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sharona Ben-Haim
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Anna Rada
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Friedrich Wörmann
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Thomas Cloppenborg
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Christian G Bien
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Matthias Simon
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery (Evangelisches Klinikum Bethel), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Thilo Kalbhenn
- Department of Epileptology (Krankenhaus Mara), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery (Evangelisches Klinikum Bethel), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Albert Colon
- Department of Epileptology, Academic Center for Epileptology Kempenhaeghe, Heeze, the Netherlands
- ACE Work Group Epilepsy Surgery Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Kim Rijkers
- ACE Work Group Epilepsy Surgery Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands
- Department of Neurosurgery, Academic Center for Epileptology UMC/Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Olaf Schijns
- ACE Work Group Epilepsy Surgery Kempenhaeghe/Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands
- Department of Neurosurgery, Academic Center for Epileptology UMC/Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, the Netherlands
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Valeri Borger
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Epileptology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Rainer Surges
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Epileptology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Hartmut Vatter
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Epileptology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Michele Rizzi
- Functional Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco de Curtis
- Epilepsy Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Didato
- Epilepsy Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicoló Castelli
- Functional Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Bertrand Mathon
- Department of Neurosurgery, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
| | | | - Fernando Cendes
- Department of Neurology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | - Poodipedi Sarat Chandra
- Department of Neurosurgery and Neurology, AIIMS, and MEG Resource Facility, New Delhi, India
| | - Manjari Tripathi
- Department of Neurosurgery and Neurology, AIIMS, and MEG Resource Facility, New Delhi, India
| | - Hans Clusmann
- Department of Neurosurgery, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany
| | - Daniel Delev
- Department of Neurosurgery, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany
| | - Marc Guenot
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Hospital Pierre Wertheimer, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Claire Haegelen
- Department of Functional Neurosurgery, Hospital Pierre Wertheimer, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Hélène Catenoix
- Department of Neurology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Johannes Lang
- Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Hajo Hamer
- Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Brandner
- Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Katrin Walther
- Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jason S Hauptmann
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Rosalind L Jeffree
- Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Josua Kegele
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Hertie Institute of Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Eliane Weinbrenner
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Hertie Institute of Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Georgios Naros
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Hertie Institute of Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Julia Velz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Niklaus Krayenbühl
- Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Julia Onken
- Institute for Diagnostics of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center Berlin-Brandenburg, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulf C Schneider
- Department of Neurosurgery, Lucerne Cantonal Hospital, Lucerne, Switzerland
| | - Martin Holtkamp
- Institute for Diagnostics of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center Berlin-Brandenburg, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Karl Rössler
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrea Spyrantis
- Department of Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Center of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Adam Strzelczyk
- Department of Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Center of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Felix Rosenow
- Department of Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Center of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Stefan Stodieck
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Hamburg Epilepsy Center, Protestant Hospital Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mario A Alonso-Vanegas
- National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery "Manuel Velasco Suarez", Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Jörg Wellmer
- Ruhr-Epileptology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Tim Wehner
- Ruhr-Epileptology, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Lasse Dührsen
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jens Gempt
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Sauvigny
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Bernstein J, Kashyap S, Kortz MW, Zakhary B, Takayanagi A, Toor H, Savla P, Wacker MR, Ananda A, Miulli D. Utilization of epilepsy surgery in the United States: A study of the National Inpatient Sample investigating the roles of race, socioeconomic status, and insurance. Surg Neurol Int 2021; 12:546. [PMID: 34877032 PMCID: PMC8645483 DOI: 10.25259/sni_824_2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Epilepsy is estimated to affect 70 million people worldwide and is medically refractory in 30% of cases. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study using a US database from 2012 to 2014 to identify patients aged ≥18 years admitted to the hospital with epilepsy as the primary diagnosis. The sampled population was weighted using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project guidelines. Procedural ICD-9 codes were utilized to stratify the sampled population into two cohorts: resective surgery and implantation or stimulation procedure. Results: Query of the database yielded 152,925 inpatients, of which 8535 patients underwent surgical intervention. The nonprocedural group consisted of 76,000 White patients (52.6%) and 28,390 Black patients (19.7%) while the procedural group comprised 5550 White patients (64%) and 730 Black patients (8.6%) (P < 0.001). Patients with Medicare were half as likely to receive a surgical procedure (14.8% vs. 28.4%) while patients with private insurance were twice as likely to receive a procedure (53.4% vs. 29.3%), both were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Those in the lowest median household income quartile by zip code (<$40,000) were 68% less likely to receive a procedure (21.5% vs. 31.4%) while the highest income quartile was 133% more likely to receive a procedure (26.1% vs. 19.5%). Patients from rural and urban nonteaching hospitals were, by a wide margin, less likely to receive a surgical procedure. Conclusion: We demonstrate an area of need and significant improvement at institutions that have the resources and capability to perform epilepsy surgery. The data show that institutions may not be performing enough epilepsy surgery as a result of racial and socioeconomic bias. Admissions for epilepsy continue to increase without a similar trend for epilepsy surgery despite its documented effectiveness. Race, socioeconomic status, and insurance all represent significant barriers in access to epilepsy surgery. The barriers can be remedied by improving referral patterns and implementing cost-effective measures to improve inpatient epilepsy services in rural and nonteaching hospitals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Bernstein
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| | - Samir Kashyap
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| | - Michael W Kortz
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States
| | - Bishoy Zakhary
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| | - Ariel Takayanagi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| | - Harjyot Toor
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| | - Paras Savla
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| | - Margaret R Wacker
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| | - Ajay Ananda
- Department of Neurosurgery, Kaiser Sunset Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, United States
| | - Dan Miulli
- Department of Neurosurgery, Riverside University Health System, Riverside, California, United States
| |
Collapse
|