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Dengler J, Gheewala H, Kraft CN, Hegewald AA, Dörre R, Heese O, Gerlach R, Rosahl S, Maier B, Burger R, Wutzler S, Carl B, Ryang YM, Hau KT, Stein G, Gulow J, Allam A, Abduljawwad N, Rico Gonzalez G, Kuhlen R, Hohenstein S, Bollmann A, Stoffel M. Changes in frailty among patients hospitalized for spine pathologies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany-a nationwide observational study. Eur Spine J 2024; 33:19-30. [PMID: 37971536 DOI: 10.1007/s00586-023-08014-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE In spine care, frailty is associated with poor outcomes. The aim of this study was to describe changes in frailty in spine care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and their relation to surgical management and outcomes. METHODS Patients hospitalized for spine pathologies between January 1, 2019, and May 17, 2022, within a nationwide network of 76 hospitals in Germany were retrospectively included. Patient frailty, types of surgery, and in-hospital mortality rates were compared between pandemic and pre-pandemic periods. RESULTS Of the 223,418 included patients with spine pathologies, 151,766 were admitted during the pandemic and 71,652 during corresponding pre-pandemic periods in 2019. During the pandemic, the proportion of high-frailty patients increased from a range of 5.1-6.1% to 6.5-8.8% (p < 0.01), while the proportion of low frailty patients decreased from a range of 70.5-71.4% to 65.5-70.1% (p < 0.01). In most phases of the pandemic, the Elixhauser comorbidity index (ECI) showed larger increases among high compared to low frailty patients (by 0.2-1.8 vs. 0.2-0.8 [p < 0.01]). Changes in rates of spine surgery were associated with frailty, most clearly in rates of spine fusion, showing consistent increases among low frailty patients (by 2.2-2.5%) versus decreases (by 0.3-0.8%) among high-frailty patients (p < 0.02). Changes in rates of in-hospital mortality were not associated with frailty. CONCLUSIONS During the COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of high-frailty patients increased among those hospitalized for spine pathologies in Germany. Low frailty was associated with a rise in rates of spine surgery and high frailty with comparably larger increases in rates of comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Dengler
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany.
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany.
| | - Hussain Gheewala
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Clayton N Kraft
- Department of Orthopedics, Trauma Surgery and Hand Unit, HELIOS Klinikum Krefeld, Krefeld, Germany
| | - Aldemar A Hegewald
- Department of Neurosurgery, VAMED Ostsee Hospital Damp, Ostseebad Damp, Germany
| | - Ralf Dörre
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital St. Marienberg, Helmstedt, Germany
| | - Oliver Heese
- Department of Neurosurgery and Spinal Surgery, HELIOS Hospital Schwerin - University Campus of MSH Medical School Hamburg, Schwerin, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Gerlach
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Steffen Rosahl
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Bernd Maier
- Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, HELIOS Hospital Pforzheim, Pforzheim, Germany
| | - Ralf Burger
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Uelzen, Uelzen, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wutzler
- Department of Trauma, Hand and Orthopedic Surgery, HELIOS Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany
| | - Barbara Carl
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Marburg Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (MCMBB), Marburg, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken, Wiesbaden, Germany
| | - Yu-Mi Ryang
- Department of Neurosurgery and Spine Center, HELIOS Hospital Berlin Buch, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Khanh Toan Hau
- Department of Spine Surgery, HELIOS Hospital Duisburg, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Gregor Stein
- Department of Orthopaedic, Trauma and Spine Surgery, HELIOS Hospital Siegburg, Siegburg, Germany
| | - Jens Gulow
- Department of Spine Surgery, HELIOS Park-Klinikum Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ali Allam
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Nehad Abduljawwad
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Gerardo Rico Gonzalez
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | | | - Sven Hohenstein
- Real World Evidence and Health Technology Assessment, Helios Health Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Bollmann
- Real World Evidence and Health Technology Assessment, Helios Health Institute, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Electrophysiology, Heart Center Leipzig at Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Michael Stoffel
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Krefeld, Krefeld, Germany
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Gheewala H, Aldergham M, Rosahl S, Stoffel M, Ryang YM, Heese O, Gerlach R, Burger R, Carl B, Kristof RA, Westermaier T, Terzis J, Youssef F, Gonzalez GR, Bold F, Allam A, Kuhlen R, Hohenstein S, Bollmann A, Dengler J. Decompressive Surgery in the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke during the First Four Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany: A Nationwide Observational Cohort Study. J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg 2023. [PMID: 37595628 DOI: 10.1055/a-2156-5363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected acute ischemic stroke (AIS) care. In this study, we examined the effects of the pandemic on neurosurgical AIS care by means of decompressive surgery (DS). METHODS In this retrospective observational study, we compared the characteristics, in-hospital processes, and in-hospital mortality rates among patients hospitalized for AIS during the first four waves of the pandemic (between January 1, 2020 and October 26, 2021) versus the corresponding periods in 2019 (prepandemic). We used administrative data from a nationwide hospital network in Germany. RESULTS Of the 177 included AIS cases with DS, 60 were from 2019 and 117 from the first four pandemic waves. Compared with the prepandemic levels, there were no changes in weekly admissions for DS during the pandemic. The same was true for patient age (range: 51.7-60.4 years), the number of female patients (range: 33.3-57.1%), and the prevalence of comorbidity, as measured by the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (range: 13.2-20.0 points). Also, no alterations were observed in transfer to the intensive care unit (range: 87.0-100%), duration of in-hospital stay (range: 14.6-22.7 days), and in-hospital mortality rates (range: 11.8-55.6%). CONCLUSION In Germany, compared with the prepandemic levels, AIS patients undergoing DS during the first four waves of the pandemic showed no changes in demographics, rates of comorbidity, and in-hospital mortality rates. This is in contrast to previous evidence on patients with less critical types of AIS not requiring DS and underlines the uniqueness of the subgroup of AIS patients requiring DS. Our findings suggests that these patients, in contrast to AIS patients in general, were unable to forgo hospitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining the delivery of DS is an essential aspect of AIS care during a pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hussain Gheewala
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Muath Aldergham
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Vascular Surgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Steffen Rosahl
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Michael Stoffel
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Krefeld, Krefeld, Germany
| | - Yu-Mi Ryang
- Department of Neurosurgery and Center for Spine Therapy, HELIOS Hospital Berlin Buch, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Oliver Heese
- Department of Neurosurgery and Spinal Surgery, HELIOS Hospital Schwerin - University Campus of MSH Medical School Hamburg, Schwerin, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Gerlach
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
| | - Ralf Burger
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Uelzen, Uelzen, Germany
| | - Barbara Carl
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Marburg Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (MCMBB), Marburg, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken, Wiesbaden, Germany
| | - Rudolf A Kristof
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Meiningen, Meiningen, Germany
| | | | - Jorge Terzis
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Farid Youssef
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Plauen, Plauen, Germany
| | - Gerardo Rico Gonzalez
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Frederic Bold
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | - Ali Allam
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
| | | | - Sven Hohenstein
- Real World Evidence and Health Technology Assessment, Helios Health Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Bollmann
- Real World Evidence and Health Technology Assessment, Helios Health Institute, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Electrophysiology, Heart Center Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Julius Dengler
- Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Campus Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
- Department of Neurosurgery, HELIOS Hospital Bad Saarow, Bad Saarow, Germany
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