Gender differences in NIH grant funding in neurological surgery.

Research productivity is a vital component to an academic neurosurgeon's career. We sought to evaluate gender differences in NIH funding among faculty in neurological surgery departments. NIH funding awarded to PIs of neurological surgery departments from 2014 to 2019 were obtained and analyzed for gender differences in funding trends, with attention to terminal degree and academic rank, as well as publication range in length of years and h-index. 79.4% of all NIH grants were awarded to male PIs, with the remaining 20.5% given to their female counterparts. Mean of the total NIH grants awarded to men was significantly higher at $1,796,684 (± Standard Error of Mean (SEM) $155,849, IQR: $1,759,250) compared to women at $1,151,968 (± SEM $137,914, IQR: $1,388,538) (P = 0.022). Mean NIH funding per grant for men was $365,760 (± SEM: $39,592, IQR: $189,692) and for women was $292,912 (± SEM: 28,239, IQR: $283,177). Differences in mean NIH funding per grant approached but did not reach statistical significance between men and women (P = 0.122). When stratified for academic rank, there was a significant difference in mean NIH funding per grant between men and women on the associate professor level (p < 0.005), with women exceeding men in funding at this academic level, with other academic ranks remaining non-significant. Overall, male neurosurgeons receive significantly more total NIH grant funding than their female counterparts, except at the level of associate professor where women were found to surpass men.

Impact of venous thromboembolism during admission for meningioma surgery on hospital charges and postoperative complications.

Surgical resection of meningiomas has been associated with high rates of venous thromboembolic events (VTE) as compared with all other intracranial tumors. There is a paucity of data regarding the clinical complications and comorbidities associated with this cohort yet the underlying pathophysiological mechanism for this tumor-specific finding remains unclear. Our goal was to determine the various impacts of VTE on meningioma surgery in a large cohort of inpatient admissions. This retrospective analysis utilized discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2002 to 2010. Patient demographics, comorbidities, length of stay, hospital charges, and postoperative complications were compared between patients with and without VTE. Of 20,259 patients, 426 (2.1%) experienced a VTE. Compared to the non-VTE cohort, patients that experienced a VTE were older (62.7 ±â€¯13.7 vs. 57.2 ±â€¯14.7; p < 0.001), were more commonly male (38.0% vs 30.1%; p = 0.001), had longer hospitalizations (18.8 vs 6.6 days; p < 0.001), and incurred significantly greater hospital charges ($195,837 vs $74,434; p < 0.001). VTE patients experienced significantly higher rates of acute postoperative complications including shock, hemorrhage, wound dehiscence, infection, intracerebral hemorrhage, hemiparesis/hemiplegia, stroke, and death during admission. Odds ratio of aforementioned postsurgical complications remained significantly higher both before and after adjusting for age and sex (all p < 0.01). Occurrence of VTE in patients undergoing meningioma resection portends greater hospital charges, most likely attributed to longer lengths of admission. Increased postoperative complications and mortality in the VTE group warrants further investigation and wariness of the surgeon when treating surgical candidates of meningioma.

Return to the Emergency Room with or without Readmission After Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Patients at an Urban Medical Center.

BACKGROUND: Although reducing 30-day hospital readmissions is now a priority in neurosurgical quality improvement, postoperative emergency room (ER) visits have remained poorly understood, in particular, in populations with limited access to outpatient care. After endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery, the unique pathologic entities treated can engender a variety of surgical and metabolic complications-often dangerous, delayed, and nonspecific in presentation. We sought to characterize the causes and timing of ER visits-with or without readmission-in a socioeconomically disadvantaged population. METHODS: We reviewed all the patients undergoing ETS by our skull base team from 2009 to 2017 to determine their socioeconomic profile and causes of ER visits. For external validation, we compared our results with national data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. RESULTS: Of the 229 patients, 35 (15.3%) had visited the ER within 30 days of discharge. Of these 229 patients, 21 (9.2%) were readmitted, and 109 (47.6%) were insured by Medicaid. The most common reasons for the ER visits were headache (8 of 35 [22.9%]), hyponatremia (7 of 35 [20.0%]), and epistaxis (5 of 35 [14.3%]). The most common cause for readmission was symptomatic hyponatremia (6 of 21 [28.6%]). The other reasons for readmission included meningitis (2 of 21 [9.5%]), adrenal crisis (2 of 21 [9.5%]), and cerebrospinal fluid leakage (1 of 21 [4.8%]). The average time to readmission was 10.9 days. According to the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database, the 30-day readmission rate was 5.5%, of which 22.2% were for hyponatremia. CONCLUSION: Delayed hyponatremia accounts for a large proportion of ER visits and unplanned readmissions. Close follow-up with diligent, multidisciplinary care might reduce the number of ER visits and readmission in this population.

Unruptured aneurysms in the elderly: perioperative outcomes and cost analysis of endovascular coiling and surgical clipping.

OBJECTIVE Observation and neurosurgical intervention for unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) in the elderly population is rapidly increasing. Cerebral aneurysm coiling (CACo) is favored over cerebral aneurysm clipping (CAC) in elderly patients, yet some elderly individuals still undergo CAC. The cost-effectiveness of treating UIAs requires further exploration. Understanding the effect of intervention on hospital charges and length of stay (LOS) as well as perioperative mortality and complications can further shed light on its economic impact. The purpose of this study was to analyze the cost and perioperative outcomes of UIAs in elderly patients (≥ 65 years of age) after CACo or CAC intervention. METHODS Retrospective cohorts of CACo and CAC admissions were extracted from National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample data obtained between 2002 and 2013, forming parallel intervention groups to compare the following outcomes between elderly and nonelderly patients: average LOS and mean hospital admission costs, in-hospital mortality, and complications. Covariates included sex, race or ethnicity, and comorbidities. RESULTS Elderly patients undergoing CAC experienced an average LOS of 8.0 days, whereas elderly patients undergoing CACo stayed an average of 3.2 days. The mean hospital charges incurred during admission totaled $95,960 in the elderly patients who underwent CAC versus $87,960 in the ones who underwent CACo. Elderly patients in whom CAC was performed had a 2.2% rate of in-hospital mortality, with a 2.6 greater adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality than nonelderly patients treated with CAC. In contrast, elderly patients who underwent CACo had a 1.36 greater adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality than their nonelderly counterparts. Compared to nonelderly patients receiving both interventions, elderly individuals had a significantly higher prevalence of various comorbidities and incidence of complications. Elderly patients who received CAC experienced a 10.3% incidence rate of perioperative stroke, whereas their CACo counterparts experienced this complication at a rate of 3.5%. Elderly patients treated with CAC had greater odds of perioperative acute renal failure, whereas their CACo counterparts had greater odds of perioperative deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. CONCLUSIONS Intervention with CAC and CACo in the elderly is resource intensive and is associated with higher risk than in the nonelderly. Those deciding between intervention and conservative management should consider these risks and costs, especially the 2.2% postoperative mortality rate associated with CAC in the elderly population. Further comparative cost-effectiveness research is needed to weigh these costs and outcomes against those of conservative management.