The future of neurology

Influence of Research Continuity on Physician-Scientists' Career Success

OBJECTIVE

To determine if maintaining continuity in research topic and method from early to late career yields a greater likelihood of physician-scientists' research career success; that is, achieving research independence and producing impactful publications.

METHODS

To explore the effect of maintaining continuity in research, 108 neurology residency graduates (2000-2010) from former medical scientist training programs at the highest National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke- and NIH-funded institutions were identified. Through comparison of PhD dissertations with postgraduate work, research continuity was deemed present if there was evidence of continuity in research topic and method. With publicly available SCOPUS, PubMed, and NIH RePORT data, the correlation that degree of continuity had with h-indices, number of grants awarded, and R01 acquisition was examined.

RESULTS

Nearly half of the graduates were classified as noncontinuous (45%), fewer than a quarter as somewhat continuous (22%), and roughly a third as very continuous (32%). The data demonstrated that research continuity increased the ability to acquire a R01, with 83% of R01 or R21 recipients having very continuous research. Very continuous graduates also had higher median number of grants received (2 [interquartile range (IQR) 1-3]) and a higher median h-index (17 [IQR 10.5-20]) compared to the somewhat continuous and noncontinuous groups.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights research continuity as an important and modifiable variable during the training period of physician-scientists and one that may improve their career success and promote greater retention within the workforce.

Distance Neurological Supervision Using Telestroke Does Not Increase Door-to-Needle Time in Acute Ischemic Stroke Management: The Experience of Two Regional Stroke Units

Background and Aims: Timely administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA) improves clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients. This study aims to explore the influence of the systematic presence on site of a neurologist compared with telestroke management on door-to-needle time in acute ischemic stroke outside of working hours (OWH).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all r-tPA-treated patients in the emergency rooms of two Swiss stroke units, Nyon Hospital [Groupement Hospitalier de l'Ouest Lémanique (GHOL)] and Fribourg Hospital [Hôpital de Fribourg (HFR)], between February 2014 and September 2018. Door-to-needle time was analyzed for patients admitted during working hours (WH' weekdays 08:00–18:00) and OWH (weekdays 18:00–08:00, weekends, and public holidays). The latter was compared between centers; OWH, every patient was evaluated prior to thrombolysis by a neurologist on site in GHOL, while HFR adopted distance neurological supervision with teleradiology, performed by telephone evaluation of relevant clinical information with online real-time access to brain imaging.

Results: Data were analyzed for 157 patients in HFR and 101 patients in GHOL. No statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics were found for the 258 r-tPA-treated acute ischemic stroke patients, in terms of age, gender, cardiovascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation), and pre-Modified Rankin Scale (pre-mRs) between centers, with the exception of smoking and anticoagulation status. Patients in HFR presented with more severe strokes {median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) [6 (SD 6.88) (GHOL), 8 (SD 6.98) (HFR), p = 0.005]}. No significant differences in baseline characteristics were found as per admission time independently of the center. Door-to-needle time was significantly longer in the HFR cohort when compared with GHOL, irrespective of admission time. Both centers demonstrated significantly longer median door-to-needle time OWH. However, analysis of the door-to-needle time differences between WH and OWH showed no significant interaction using robust ANCOVA WRS2 analysis (p = 0.952) and a Bayesian model (BF01 = 3.97).

Conclusions: On-site systematic evaluation by a neurologist did not appear to influence door-to-needle time OWH, suggesting distance supervision may be time-efficient in thrombolysis. This supports existing prospective studies in hyperacute telestroke management. The relevance lies in optimizing resource use considering the increasing demand for emergency neurological management.

Telemedicine Utilization in Neurosurgery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Glimpse Into the Future?

OBJECTIVE

To describe telemedicine utilization in neurosurgery at a single tertiary institution to provide outpatient care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with 315 telemedicine visits performed by the neurosurgery department.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic national stay-at-home orders and postponed elective surgeries, we converted upcoming clinic visits into telemedicine visits and rescheduled other patients thought not to be markedly affected by surgical postponement. We reviewed the charts of all patients who had telehealth visits from April 1 through April 30, 2020, and collected demographic information, diagnosis, type of visit, and whether they received surgery; a satisfaction questionnaire was also administered.

RESULTS

In March 2020, 94% (644 of 685) of the neurosurgery clinic visits were face-to-face, whereas in April 2020, 55% (315 of 573) of the visits were telemedicine (P<.001). In April, of the 315 telemedicine visits, 172 (55%) were phone consults and 143 (45%) video consults; 101 (32%) were new consults, 195 (62%) return visits, and 18 (6%) postoperative follow-up. New consults were more likely to be video with audio than return visits and postoperative follow-up (P<.001). Only 39 patients (12%) required surgery. Ninety-one percent of the questionnaire respondents were very likely to recommend telemedicine.

CONCLUSION

Rapid implementation of telemedicine to evaluate neurosurgery patients became an effective tool for preoperative consultation, postoperative and follow-up visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, and decreased risks of exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to patients and health care staff. Future larger studies should investigate the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine used to triage surgical from nonsurgical patients, potential cost-savings from reducing travel burdens and lost work time, improved access, reduced wait times, and impact on patient satisfaction.

Neurology residency training in 2017

Objective

To survey graduating US neurology residents on the topics of debt, fellowship interview process, future plans, and their readiness for practice and business management tasks.

Methods

An electronic survey was sent to all US American Academy of Neurology member adult and child neurology residents graduating in June 2017.

Results

The response rate was 23.4% (n = 159). Of the 143 residents who provided information about student loans, 57% reported having debt (median $180,000). Ninety percent of respondents reported plans to pursue a fellowship after residency; 57% intended to stay at their home institution for additional training. Among respondents from adult neurology programs, 87% preferred to begin the fellowship application process after the first 6 months of the third postgraduate year. Almost half (46%) of adult neurology program residents felt they did not have enough outpatient exposure prior to making fellowship decisions compared to 14% of child neurology trainees. Although reported readiness to perform specific tasks (coding and office management) increased since 2007 (p < 0.05), only 36% of all respondents reported receiving business management training during residency.

Conclusion

Trainees completing residency report considerable educational debt. A large majority of residents feel the fellowship application process occurs too early. Despite improvements over recent years, the majority of residents continue to feel ill-prepared for specific practice management tasks. These results suggest a need to better understand the effect of educational debt on career choices, an examination of the timing of the fellowship application process, and the incorporation of additional business management training during residency.

Brazilian Academy of Neurology (2006 - 2016)

Brazil is a heterogeneous country with continental dimensions. The different characteristics of cultural, socioeconomic, and demographic status of the population drive different strategies for neurological care. This knowledge helps the understanding of the current scenario with the consequent possibility of preparing for future challenges. We used data from annual internal forms of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology (BAN) since 2006 and the survey for all BAN members (3,240) in 2016. The geographic distribution of BAN members in Brazil follows the demographic concentration of the population. Participation of members from big cities was the most prevalent, 18.7% of participants were young neurologists, and 36.7% of neurologists had more than of 20 years of neurological practice. The improvement of knowledge of neurological practice in Brazil will be useful for BAN leadership in planning future actions. The BAN must make an effort to aggregate a greater number of neurologists, offering updating support contributing to health policies to disseminate neurological care in Brazil.

Pattern of in-patient neurologic review: An experience from a Tertiary Hospital North-Western Nigeria

Background:

Increase in neurologic diseases burden has increased the demand for neurology services globally, despite the shortcomings of shortage and maldistribution of neurologists worldwide, including Sub-Saharan Africa. This has placed significant pressure on the few available neurologists to provide optimal and effective services in our resource-challenged settings.

Methods:

Neurology referrals were prospectively reviewed over a period of 3 months. Sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, the initial diagnosis by the requesting team, the reasons for the consult/referral, the requesting personnel, duration of hospital stay before request, the time interval between receiving the request and review, the working and final diagnosis after the review, and the diagnostic outcome of neurologic review were analyzed using Predictive Analytics Software^® version 18.0.0 for Windows (Chicago, Illinois, USA).

Results:

Fifty-three hand written in-patient requests were reviewed over the period of study given an average rate of 4.4/week. The mean age was 50.8 ± 16.1 years, and the median length of stay before a review was 1 day (interquartile range: 1–2.5 days). Diagnostic outcome of the reviews were; new diagnoses in 4 (11.3%), the incorrect diagnosis changed in 8 (15.1%), contribution to the differential diagnosis in 15 (28.3%), and contribution to management plans in 24 (45.3%) patients. The association between diagnostic outcomes and mortality in our study was not statistically significant (χ² = 6.66, P = 0.08).

Conclusion:

Our study showed that in-patient neurologic reviews led to significant improvement in diagnostic and management plans. Appropriate policy guidelines should focus more on efficient ways of maximizing benefits of these reviews to patients without overburdening the few available neurologists in our environment.

Telephone consultations for tissue plasminogen activator administration in acute stroke

Effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke has been available for 17 years, but wide geographic variability remains in timely access to neurologic expertise and other components of stroke systems of care. Telemedical technology can be used to improve such access, but it is debatable whether neurologists have an ethical obligation to provide consultation regarding tissue plasminogen activator use via the telephone. This article examines whether neurologists are ethically obligated to provide telephone-mediated acute stroke consultation.

Future neurohospitalist: teleneurohospitalist

Despite the growing demand for emergency neurological evaluations and neurohospitalists, the supply of neurologists remains relatively fixed over time.  Telemedicine is a unique tool that has the ability to put a medical specialist like a neurologist in 2 places in a relatively short period of time, expanding expertise in many rural and in some underserved urban facilities that would ordinarily be devoid of such expertise. Teleneurology is a branch of telemedicine that consults and practices through remote neurological evaluation. Telestroke is defined as remote stroke evaluation. The demand for timely neurological evaluation, especially acute stroke evaluation and treatment with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rtPA), continues to fuel the growth of neurohospitalists, telestroke, and teleneurology services.  Remote, rural, or underserved urban emergency departments and hospitals which are unable to successfully recruit a neurologist or neurohospitalist to provide this service are uniquely suited to a teleneurology option.  The number of private practices and academic centers providing telestroke services has grown significantly in the past decade with continued growth expected.  We describe the benefits and drawbacks of teleneurology/telestroke, as well as other practical aspects for the teleneurohospitalist.

The Workforce Task Force report: clinical implications for neurology

The American Academy of Neurology Workforce Task Force (WFTF) report predicts a future shortfall of neurologists in the United States. The WFTF data also suggest that for most states, the current demand for neurologist services already exceeds the supply, and by 2025 the demand for neurologists will be even higher. This future demand is fueled by the aging of the US population, the higher health care utilization rates of neurologic services, and by a greater number of patients gaining access to the health care system due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Uncertainties in health care delivery and patient access exist due to looming concerns about further Medicare reimbursement cuts. This uncertainty is set against a backdrop of Congressional volatility on a variety of issues, including the repeal of the sustainable growth rate for physician reimbursement. The impact of these US health care changes on the neurology workforce, future increasing demands, reimbursement, and alternative health care delivery models including accountable care organizations, nonphysician providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and teleneurology for both stroke and general neurology are discussed. The data lead to the conclusion that neurologists will need to play an even larger role in caring for the aging US population by 2025. We propose solutions to increase the availability of neurologic services in the future and provide other ways of meeting the anticipated increased demand for neurologic care.

Relationship between hospital surgical volume, lobectomy rates, and adverse perioperative events at US epilepsy centers

OBJECT

Epilepsy surgery remains significantly underutilized. The authors recently reported that the number of lobectomies for localized intractable epilepsy in the US has not changed despite the implementation of clear evidence-based guidelines 10 years ago supporting early referral for surgery. To better understand why epilepsy surgery continues to be underused, the authors' objective was to carefully examine hospital-related factors related to the following: 1) where patients are being admitted for the evaluation of epilepsy, 2) rates of utilization for surgery across hospitals, and 3) perioperative morbidity between hospitals with low versus high volumes of epilepsy surgery.

METHODS

The authors performed a population-based cohort study of US hospitals between 1990 and 2008 using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), stratifying epilepsy surgery rates and trends as well as perioperative morbidity rates by hospital surgical volume.

RESULTS

The number of lobectomies for epilepsy performed at high-volume centers (> 15 lobectomies/year) significantly decreased between 1990 and 2008 (F = 20.4, p < 0.001), while significantly more procedures were performed at middle-volume hospitals (5-15 lobectomies/year) over time (F = 16.1, p < 0.001). No time trend was observed for hospitals performing fewer than 5 procedures per year. However, patients admitted to high-volume centers were significantly more likely to receive lobectomy than those at low-volume hospitals (relative risk 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.08, p < 0.001). Also, the incidence of perioperative adverse events was significantly higher at low-volume hospitals (12.9%) than at high-volume centers (6.1%) (relative risk 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.07, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Hospital volume is an important predictor of epilepsy surgery utilization and perioperative morbidity. Patients with medically refractory epilepsy should be referred to a comprehensive epilepsy treatment center for surgical evaluation by an experienced clinical team.