Ethnic-Associated Phenotype Variations in Moyamoya Cerebrovascular Outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Moyamoya has been extensively described in East Asian populations, and despite its accepted clinical presentation and course, it is fundamental to describe major cerebrovascular complications in other ethnically diverse samples. Hence, we sought to determine if distinct ethnic groups are at higher risk of developing stroke using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. METHODS: We included all moyamoya patients admitted from January 2013 until December 2018 in the NIS database. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the risk of developing stroke and poor outcomes in different races compared to white patients. RESULTS: Out of the 6093 admissions with diagnosis of moyamoya disease that were captured, 2,520 were white (41.6%), 2,078 were African American (AA) (34.1%), 721 were Hispanic (11.8%), and 496 were Asian (8.14%). For arterial ischemic stroke (AIS), we found that AA race had a significantly reduced risk of AIS compared to white patients (odds ratio = 0.8, 95% confidence interval: 0.7-0.9, p = 0.031). While being Hispanic or Asian significantly increased 1.5 and 2-fold the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the unique features and phenotypes of moyamoya cases among different ethnicities. While possibly AA are protected from developing AIS due to underlying causes of moyamoya such as sickle cell disease, Asians seems to be more susceptible to hemorrhagic stroke.

The Effect of a Multidisciplinary Spine Clinic on Time to Care in Patients with Chronic Back and/or Leg Pain: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Chronic back and leg pain are leading causes of disability worldwide. The purpose of this study was to compare the care in a unidisciplinary (USC) versus multidisciplinary (MSC) spine clinic, where patients are evaluated by different specialists during the same office visit. Adult patients presenting with a chief complaint of back and/or leg pain between June 2018 and July 2019 were assessed for eligibility. The main outcome measures included the first treatment recommendations, the time to treatment order, and the time to treatment occurrence. A 1:1 propensity score-matched analysis was performed on 874 patients (437 in each group). For all patients, the most common recommendation was physical therapy (41.4%), followed by injection (14.6%), and surgery (9.7%). Patients seen in the MSC were more likely to be recommended injection (p < 0.001) and less likely to be recommended surgery as first treatment (p = 0.001). They also had significantly shorter times to the injection order (log-rank test, p = 0.004) and the injection occurrence (log-rank test, p < 0.001). In this study, more efficient care for patients with back and/or leg pain was delivered in the MSC setting, which was evidenced by the shorter times to the injection order and occurrence. The impact of the MSC approach on patient satisfaction and health-related quality-of-life outcome measures warrants further investigation.

Bilateral posterior capsule rupture and anterior vitreous prolapse from vigorous eye rubbing.

PURPOSE: We present the case of a 71-year-old male who developed decreased visual acuity eleven years after uncomplicated bilateral cataract extraction and in-the-bag IOL implantation following recent bouts of vigorous eye rubbing. OBSERVATIONS: On examination, the posterior capsules were ruptured centrally in both eyes, and there was anterior vitreous prolapse bilaterally. While both IOLs remained in the visual axis, there was mild bilateral decentration and resultant decreased vision. CONCLUSION AND IMPORTANCE: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of bilateral simultaneous posterior capsule rupture with anterior vitreous prolapse due to eye rubbing. Contrasting to previous case reports, this scenario demonstrates that severe eye rubbing can have variable severity and complications. Frequent and vigorous eye rubbing can be a precipitating cause of late postoperative posterior capsule rupture and should be avoided in pseudophakic patients, especially those with older IOL models.

Association of Medicare and Medicaid Insurance Status with Increased Spine Surgery Utilization Rates.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective single-institution study. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between patients' insurance status and the likelihood for them to be recommended various spine interventions upon evaluation in our neurosurgical clinics. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Socioeconomically disadvantaged populations have worse outcomes after spine surgery. No studies have looked at the differential rates of recommendation for surgery for patients presenting to spine surgeons based on socioeconomic status. METHODS: We studied patients initially seeking spine care from spine-fellowship trained neurosurgeons at our institution from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association between insurance status and the recommended patient treatment. RESULTS: Overall, 663 consecutive outpatients met inclusion criteria. Univariate analysis revealed a statistically significant association between insurance status and treatment recommendations for surgery (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that compared with private insurance, Medicare (odds ratio [OR] 3.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21-7.53, P = 0.001) and Medicaid patients (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.21-5.17, P = 0.014) were more likely to be recommended for surgery. Uninsured patients did not receive recommendations for surgery at significantly different rates than patients with private insurance. CONCLUSION: Medicare and Medicaid patients are more likely to be recommended for spine surgery when initially seeking spine care from a neurosurgeon. These findings may stem from a number of factors, including differential severity of the patient's condition at presentation, disparities in access to care, and differences in shared decision making between surgeons and patients.Level of Evidence: 3.