Characterization of transsphenoidal complications in patients with acromegaly: an analysis of inpatient data in the United States from 2002 to 2010

Acromegaly and male sexual health

Acromegaly is a rare pathology characterized by chronic hypersecretion of Growth Hormone (GH) and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) that causes somatic, metabolic, and systemic changes. The somatotropic axis acts physiologically favoring gonadal function, but when GH is produced in excess it has deleterious effects on many aspects of male sexuality. It is widely demonstrated, in fact, that acromegaly induces hypogonadism through different mechanisms, both through direct mass effect on gonadotropic cells and through increased plasma levels of prolactin. Moreover, hypogonadism is also one of the factors linking acromegaly to erectile dysfunction (ED), but also metabolic complications of acromegaly and, probably, GH itself contribute to the genesis of this disorder. There are few data in the literature on the impact of the disease on fertility and testicular volume. Finally, knowledge of the role of GH hypersecretion on the occurrence of prostatic diseases such as benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostatic cancer appears to be of fundamental clinical importance in the long-term management of these patients.

The incidence of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage after elective cranial surgery: a systematic review

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage is a major complication after elective neurosurgical procedures. The aim of this systematic literature review is to summarize the incidence rates of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage for neurosurgical procedures, classified by surgical approach. The Pubmed, Cochrane, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for studies reporting the outcome of patients undergoing elective neurosurgical procedures. The number of patients, surgical approach, and indication for surgery were recorded for each study. Outcomes related to CSF leakage such as clinical manifestation and treatment were reported as well. One hundred and thirteen studies were included, reporting 94,695 cases. Overall, CSF leaks were present in 3.8% of cases. Skull base surgery had the highest rate of CSF leakage with 6.2%. CSF leakage occurred in 5.9% of anterior skull base procedures, 6.4% of middle fossa, and 5.2% of transpetrosal surgeries. 5.8% of reported infratentorial procedures were complicated by CSF leakage versus 2.9% of supratentorial surgeries. CSF leakage remains a common serious adverse event after cranial surgery. There exists a need for standardized procedures to reduce the incidence of postoperative CSF leakage, as this serious adverse event may lead to increased health care costs.

Conditions associated with giant pituitary tumors at the time of surgery effecting outcome morbidity and mortality

Background:

Surgical outcome prediction has assisted physicians in discussing surgical intervention or expectant management. While increasing pituitary tumor size would seem to be associated with increasing challenge of removal and associated complications, that relationship has not been borne in the literature.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective review of a consecutive cohort of pituitary surgeries completed at our institution. Data included age at the time of surgery, presenting symptoms and Glasgow Coma scale (GCS), GCS at discharge or 7 days postoperatively, GCS at 6 months, adenoma size, imaging characteristics of the tumor and brain before resection, postoperative complications, the presence of preoperative hydrocephalus, brainstem compression, and patient mortality.

Results:

Patients with giant adenomas were more likely to present with a cranial nerve palsy (P = 0.019), altered mental status (P = 0.0001), hydrocephalus (P = 0.002), and mass effect on the brainstem (P = 0.020). Patients who experienced a postoperative decline in mental status were more likely to present with altered mental (P = 0.006), had an increased prevalence of mass effect on the brainstem (P = 0.005), and were more likely to have either an ischemic stroke (P = 0.0001) and vasospasms or new intraparenchymal hemorrhage (P = 0.013).

Conclusion:

The results of this study demonstrate that postoperative mental status declines after pituitary adenoma resection can be directly related to brainstem compression and further surgical irritation of the surrounding vasculature. The intraoperative irritation can be multifactorial and may result as the decompressed brain structures assume their anatomical position.

Enlargement of an incidental internal carotid artery aneurysm embedded in pituitary adenoma associated with medical shrinkage of the tumor: Case report

Background

Currently, transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is the preferred method for surgical treatment of intrasellar pituitary adenomas. However, it carries some risk of intraoperative arterial injuries, which is mainly attributed to direct iatrogenic rupture of the internal carotid artery (ICA). There is anecdotal evidence suggesting that intracranial aneurysms are coincidentally found significantly more frequently in the setting of pituitary adenomas than when the incidence is compared to other intracranial neoplasms. The exact cause of this discrepancy remains unclear, but it certainly raises concerns about the potential existence of an ICA aneurysm, which might be encountered during TSS and in some cases may cause hemorrhagic complications.

Case Description

We present a case of a patient who was found to have a growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary adenoma and a coexisting cavernous ICA aneurysm which was embedded within the tumor. The patient underwent medical treatment of the adenoma. However, shrinkage of the tumor was associated with enlargement of the observed aneurysm, warranting endovascular intervention.

Conclusions

This case report is an illustration for physicians to be conscientious about the potential danger posed by the coexistence of an intratumoral aneurysm in the setting of a pituitary adenoma. Special attention should be given to recognition of an intrinsic flow void signal on the presurgical imaging of the tumor, and if observed, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) should be performed for preoperative planning. If MRA is not performed routinely, detailed review of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging is recommended to detect any flow artifacts suggestive of an aneurysm.

Impact of obstructive sleep apnea in transsphenoidal pituitary surgery: An analysis of inpatient data

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS

Although previous studies have reported increased perioperative complications among obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients undergoing any surgery requiring general anesthesia, there is a paucity of literature addressing the impact of OSA on postoperative transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) complications. The aim of this study was to analyze postoperative outcomes in transsphenoidal pituitary surgery patients with OSA. Secondarily, we examined patient characteristics and comorbidities.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective analysis.

METHODS

The 2002 to 2013 National Inpatient Sample was queried for patients undergoing TSS for pituitary neoplasm. Patients with an additional diagnosis of OSA were identified, and compared to a non-OSA cohort.

RESULTS

There were 17,777 patients identified; 5.0% (N = 889) had an additional diagnosis of OSA. The OSA cohort had more comorbidities including diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease, coagulopathy, hypertension, hypothyroidism, liver disease, obesity, peripheral vascular disease, renal failure, acromegaly, and Cushing's syndrome. Postoperatively, OSA was independently associated with increased risks of tracheostomy (P = .015) and hypoxemia (P < .001), and decreased risk of cardiac complications (P = .034). OSA patients did not have increased rates of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea, diabetes insipidus, reintubation, aspiration pneumonia, infectious pneumonia, thromboembolic complications, or urinary/renal complications. In-hospital mortality rates did not vary between the two cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients who underwent transsphenoidal pituitary surgery, OSA was associated with higher rates of certain pulmonary and airway complications. OSA was not associated with increased non-pulmonary/airway complications or inpatient mortality, despite older average age and higher comorbidity rates.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

2C. Laryngoscope, 128:1027-1032, 2018.

Facial fracture repair and diabetes mellitus: An examination of postoperative complications

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS

Our objectives included using a nationally representative resource to evaluate charges, demographics, and complication rates among diabetics undergoing surgical repair of facial fractures.

METHODS

We evaluated the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database encompassing nearly 8 million hospitalizations, for patients with a diagnosis of a facial fracture who underwent surgical intervention during their hospitalization. Patients were organized by whether they had a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM).

RESULTS

Of 45,509 inpatients included, diabetics had greater costs, longer length of stays, and were significantly more likely to have a host of baseline comorbidities. On multivariate logistic regression corrected for age, race, gender, and preexisting cardiac disease, DM patients had significantly greater odds for cardiac complications (3.3; P < 0.001) and hepatic failure (15.0; P = 0.007). There were no significant differences associated with DM in the rates of enophthalmos, epiphora, and diplopia among patients with orbital fractures. Diabetics did have a significantly greater risk of postoperative infection after mandible repair.

CONCLUSION

In addition to a significant association with greater length of stay and increased hospital charges, DM patients undergoing surgical repair of facial fractures had a significantly greater risk of postoperative complications, including cardiac complications. Diabetics undergoing mandible repair had a greater risk of postoperative infection, even upon controlling for demographic factors, suggesting the need for further study evaluating the role of postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in this patient population. These findings reveal the potential value of developing and using standardized postoperative care algorithms aimed at minimizing complications in this susceptible population.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

2c. Laryngoscope, 127:809-814, 2017.

Pediatric pituitary resection: characterizing surgical approaches and complications

BACKGROUND

Although there has been extensive study evaluating adult pituitary surgery, there has been scant analysis among children. Our objective was to evaluate a population-based resource to characterize nationwide trends in surgical approach, hospital stay, and complications among children undergoing pituitary surgery.

METHODS

The Kids' Inpatient-Database (KID) files (2009/2012) were evaluated for pituitary gland excisions. Procedure, patient demographics, length of inpatient stay, inpatient costs, hospital setting, and surgical complications were analyzed.

RESULTS

A weighted incidence of 1071 cases were analyzed; the majority (77.6%) underwent transsphenoidal resections. These patients had significantly decreased hospital costs and lengths of stay. Patients undergoing transfrontal approaches had significantly greater rates of postoperative diabetes insipidus (DI) (66.5%), panhypopituitarism (38.8%), hydrocephalus, and visual deficits. Among transsphenoidal patients, males had greater rates of postoperative hydrocephalus (5.5%) and panhypopituitarism (17.5%) than females, and patients ≤10 years old had greater rates of these 2 complications (14.5%, 19.4%, respectively) as well as DI (61.3%).

CONCLUSION

A greater proportion of children undergo transfrontal approaches for pituitary lesions than in their adult counterparts. This difference may harbor a potential to influence future sellar resection approaches in children toward a transsphenoidal operation when surgically feasible. Patients undergoing transfrontal procedures have greater risks for many intraoperative and postoperative complications relative to individuals undergoing transsphenoidal resections. Among patients undergoing transsphenoidal approaches, males had significantly greater rates of postoperative hydrocephalus and panhypopituitarism, and younger children had greater rates of postoperative DI, hydrocephalus, and panhypopituitarism. These data reinforce the need for greater vigilance in the postoperative care of younger children undergoing transsphenoidal surgery.