Predictors of Surgical Site Infection Following Craniotomy for Intracranial Neoplasms: An Analysis of Prospectively Collected Data in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database

Risk Factors for Central Nervous System Infections After Craniotomy

The central nervous system (CNS) is less prone to infection owing to protection from the brain-blood barrier. However, craniotomy destroys this protection and increases the risk of infection in the brain of patients who have undergone craniotomy. CNS infection after craniotomy significantly increases the patient's mortality rate and disability. Controlling the occurrence of intracranial infection is very important for post-craniotomy patients. CNS infection after craniotomy is caused by several factors such as preoperative, intraoperative, and post-operative factors. Craniotomy may lead to postsurgical intracranial infection, which is mainly associated with surgery duration, infratentorial (posterior fossa) surgery, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, drainage tube placement, unregulated use of antibiotics, glucocorticoid use, age, diabetes, and other systemic infections. Understanding the risk factors of CNS infection after craniotomy can benefit reducing the incidence of intracranial infectious diseases. This will also provide the necessary guidance and evidence in clinical practice for planning to control intracranial infection in patients with craniotomy.

An update on a persisting challenge: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the risk factors for surgical site infection post craniotomy

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infections (SSIs) postcraniotomy continue to impose a significant burden on health care systems and patient outcomes. It is, therefore, important to understand their risk factors in order to promote effective preventative measures. This meta-analysis aims to provide a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of the risk factors associated with SSIs in neurosurgical procedures.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted as per preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines to explore existing primary evidence on the risk factors for SSIs postcraniotomy. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Pubmed was performed from database inception up to June 2023. 43 studies were included in the meta-analysis, encompassing a total of 68,881 patients.

RESULTS

The strongest predictor for SSIs was found to be cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak (OR: 8.91, CI: 4.30-18.44). Other significant factors included infratentorial surgery (OR: 0.43, CI: 0.31-0.61), emergency surgery (OR: 1.41, CI: 1.05-1.91), reintervention (OR: 3.19, CI: 1.77-5.75), prolonged operative time (mean difference: 33.25; CI: 18.83-47.67), hospital length of stay (mean difference: 0.60; CI: 0.23-0.98) and intracranial pressure monitor (ICPM) insertion (OR: 1.81; CI: 1.06-3.11). Contrarily, sex, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, antibiotic prophylaxis, immunosuppressive agents, trauma, use of artificial implants did not demonstrate statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis provides an up-to-date and comprehensive evaluation of risk factors for SSIs postcraniotomy. It emphasizes the need for preventive strategies, particularly against CSF leaks, and calls for further research to elucidate the intricate relationships between these factors.

Intra-operative extracorporeal irradiation of tumour-invaded craniotomy bone flap in meningioma: a case series

BACKGROUND

Extracorporeal irradiation of tumorous calvaria (EITC) can be performed to restore function and form of the skull after resection of bone-invasive meningioma. We sought to examine the rate of tumour recurrence and other selected outcomes in patients undergoing meningioma resection and EITC.

METHODS

Retrospective single-centre study of adult patients undergoing meningioma resection and EITC between January 2015 and November 2022 at a tertiary neurosurgical centre. Patient demographics, surgery data, tumour data, use of adjuvant therapy, surgical complications, and tumour recurrences were collected.

RESULTS

Eighteen patients with 11 (61%) CNS WHO grade 1, 6 (33%) grade 2, and 1 (6%) grade 3 meningiomas were included. Median follow-up was 42 months (range 3-88). Five (28%) patients had a recurrence, but none were associated with the bone flap. Two (11%) wound infections requiring explant surgery occurred. Six (33%) patients required a further operation. Two operations were for recurrences, one was for infection, one was a washout and wound exploration but no evidence of infection was found, one patient requested the removal of a small titanium implant, and one patient required a ventriculoperitoneal shunt for a persistent CSF collection. There were no cases of bone flap resorption and cosmetic outcome was not routinely recorded.

CONCLUSION

EITC is feasible and fast to perform with good outcomes and cost-effectiveness compared to other reconstructive methods. We observed similar recurrence rates and lower infection rates requiring explant compared to the largest series of cranioplasty in meningioma. Cosmetic outcome is universally under-reported and should be reported in future studies.

Incidence and Risk Factors of Surgical Site Infection After Cranial Surgery for Patients with Brain Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infections after craniotomy (SSI-CRANs) are a serious adverse event given the proximity of the wound to the central nervous system. SSI-CRANs are associated with substantial patient morbidity and mortality. Despite the importance and recognition of this event in other surgical fields, there is a paucity of evidence in the neurosurgical literature devoted to SSI-CRAN specifically in patients after brain tumor surgery.

METHODS

Systematic searches of Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central were undertaken. The primary outcome was the incidence of SSI-CRAN at 30 and 90 days. Secondary outcomes were risk factors for SSI-CRAN.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven studies reporting 91,907 patients with brain tumors who underwent cranial surgery were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled incidence of SSI-CRAN at 30 and 90 days was 4.03% (95% CI: 2.94%-5.28%, I2 = 97.3) and 6.17% (95% CI: 3.16%-10.07%, I2 = 97.3), respectively. Specifically, incidence of SSI-CRAN following surgery for posterior fossa tumors was the highest at 9.67% (95% CI: 5.98%-14.09%, I2 = 75.5). Overall pooled incidence of readmission within 30 days and reoperation due to SSI-CRAN were 13.9% (95% CI: 12.5%-15.5%, I2 = 0.0) and 16.3% (95% CI: 5.4%-31.3%, I2 = 72.9), respectively. Risk factors for SSI-CRAN included reintervention (risk ratio [RR] 1.58, 95% CI: 1.22-2.04, I2 = 0.0), previous radiotherapy (RR 1.69, 95% CI: 1.20-2.38, I2 = 0.0), longer duration of operation (mean difference 64.18, 95% CI: 3.96-124.40 minutes, I2 = 90.3) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks (RR 14.26, 95% CI: 2.14-94.90, I2 = 73.2).

CONCLUSIONS

SSI-CRAN affects up to 1 in 14 patients with brain tumors. High-risk groups include those with reintervention, previous radiotherapy, longer duration of operation, and CSF leaks. Further prospective studies should focus on bundles of care that will reduce SSI-CRAN.

Risk factors and morbidity associated with surgical site infection subtypes following adult neurosurgical procedures

OBJECTIVE

Studies on surgical site infection (SSI) in adult neurosurgery have presented all subtypes of SSIs as the general 'SSI'. Given that SSIs constitute a broad range of infections, we hypothesized that clinical outcomes and management vary based on SSI subtype.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of all neurosurgical SSI from 2012-2019 was conducted at a tertiary care institution. SSI subtypes were categorized as deep and superficial incisional SSI, brain, dural or spinal abscesses, meningitis or ventriculitis, and osteomyelitis.

RESULTS

9620 craniotomy, shunt, and fusion procedures were studied. 147 procedures (1.5%) resulted in postoperative SSI. 87 (59.2%) of these were associated with craniotomy, 36 (24.5%) with spinal fusion, and 24 (16.3%) with ventricular shunting. Compared with superficial incisional primary SSI, rates of reoperation to treat SSI were highest for deep incisional primary SSI (91.2% vs 38.9% for superficial, p < 0.001) and second-highest for intracranial SSI (90.9% vs 38.9%, p = 0.0001). Postoperative meningitis was associated with the highest mortality rate (14.9%). Compared with superficial incisional SSI, the rate of readmission for intracranial SSI was highest (57.6% vs 16.7%, p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

Deep incisional and organ space SSI demonstrate a greater association with morbidity relative to superficial incisional SSI. Future studies should assess subtypes of SSI given these differences.

Surgical treatment of feline intracranial meningiomas: a retrospective study of 26 cases

BACKGROUND

Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for feline intracranial meningioma.

OBJECTIVES

To report clinical findings, complications, and outcomes following surgery for feline intracranial meningioma.

METHODS

Medical records (01/2000-01/2017) of cats that underwent surgical excision of an intracranial meningioma at our institution were reviewed. Patient data included signalment, clinical signs, surgical technique, complications, histopathologic diagnosis, survival time, and owners' answers to a satisfaction questionnaire. Survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test.

RESULTS

Twenty-six cats were included in this study. The exact cause of death was known in 17 cases and was not related to meningioma in 9/17 cases. Overall median survival time was 881 days (95% confidence interval 518; 1248). The age of the cat did not influence survival (p = 0.94) or the occurrence of complications (p = 0.051). Complications occurred in 13/24 cats, including dramatic complications in 4/24 cats. Most complications appeared in the first 24 hours post-surgery (12/13). Males had more postoperative complications (p = 0.042), including more seizures (p = 0.016). Cats with cranioplasty had fewer complications (p = 0.021). Clinical recurrence was confirmed in 3 out of 17 cats. Recurrence-free survival time was 826 days. Most owners (12/14) were satisfied with the outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical treatment of intracranial meningioma in cats was associated with a long median survival time but also with a high rate of minor and major postoperative complications, including early postoperative seizures. Cranioplasty may reduce complications. Age at the time of surgery had no effect on outcomes.

The impact of intraoperative MRI on cranial surgical site infections-a single-center analysis

PURPOSE

The use of intraoperative MRI (ioMRI) contributes to an improved extent of resection. Hybrid operating room MRI suites have been established, with the patient being transferred to the MRI scanner. In the present descriptive analysis, we compared the rate of surgical site infections (SSI) after intracranial tumor surgery with and without the use of ioMRI.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, we included 446 patients with open craniotomy performed for brain tumor surgery. One hundred fourteen patients were operated on with the use of ioMRI between June 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019 (group 1). During the same period, 126 patients were operated on without ioMRI (group 2). As an additional control group, we analyzed 206 patients operated on from February 1, 2017, to February 28, 2018 when ioMRI had not yet been implemented (group 3).

RESULTS

The rate of SSI in group 1 (11.4%), group 2 (9.5%), and group 3 (6.8%) did not differ significantly (p = 0.352). Additional resection after ioMRI did not result in a significantly elevated number of SSI. No significant influence of re-resection, prior radio-/chemotherapy, blood loss or duration of surgery was found on the incidence of SSI.

CONCLUSION

Despite the transfer to a non-sterile MRI scanner, leading to a prolonged operation time, SSI rates with and without the use of ioMRI did not differ significantly. Hence, advantages of ioMRI outweigh potential disadvantages as confirmed by this real-life single-center study.

Effect of preoperative hospital stay on surgical site infection in Chinese cranial neurosurgery

OBJECTIVE

Surgical site infection(SSI)after neurosurgical procedure can be devastating. Delayed hospital stay has been identified as a potentially modifiable driver of SSI in general surgery patients. However, the relationship between preoperative length of stay and SSI has not been quantified previously in neurosurgery. This study aimed to clarify the association.

DESIGN

A Cohort study based on STROBE checklist.

METHOD

This observational study focused on cranial neurosurgery patients at a tertiary referral centers in China. Data collection from hospital information system conducted between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016 was used to examine the results of interest (n = 600). Logistic regression analysis explored association between preoperative length of stay and SSI, adjusting for potential confounders.

RESULTS

Overall SSI prevalence was 10.8% and was significantly higher in the longer preoperative length of stay group. Besides preoperative length of stay, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, type of surgery, gross blood loss also significantly associated with SSI prevalence. Compared with 1 to 2 days, longer preoperative length of stay was associated with increased SSI prevalence after adjustment for confounders (3 to 4 days: odds ratio[OR], 0.975[95%CI, 0.417 to 2.281]; 5 to 6 days: OR, 2.830[95%CI, 1.092 to 7.332]; 7 or more days: OR, 4.039[95%CI, 1.164 to 14.015]; P for trend < 0.001). On the other hand, we found a positive association between preoperative length of stay to deep/space-organ SSI (OR = 1.404; 95% CI: 1.148 to 1.717; P for trend < 0.001), which was higher than superficial SSI (OR = 1.242; 95% CI: 0.835 to1.848; P for trend= 0.062).

CONCLUSIONS

In a cohort of patients from a single center retrospective surgical registry, a longer preoperative length of stay was associated with a higher incidence of cranial neurosurgical SSI. There is room for improvement in preoperative length of stay. This can be used for hospital management and to stratify patients with regard to SSI risk.

Surgical Site Infections in Glioblastoma Patients-A Retrospective Analysis

Surgical site infections (SSIs) after craniotomy lead to additional morbidity and mortality for patients, which are related to higher costs for the healthcare system. Furthermore, SSIs are associated with a longer hospital stay for the patient, which is particularly detrimental in glioblastoma patients due to their limited life expectancy. Risk factors for SSIs have already been described for craniotomies in general. However, there is limited data available for glioblastoma patients. As postoperative radiation influences wound healing, very early radiation is suspected to be a risk factor for SSI. Nevertheless, there are no data on the optimal timing of radiotherapy. To define risk factors for these patients, we analyzed our collective. We performed a retrospective analysis of all operations with histological evidence of a glioblastoma between 2012 and 2021. Open biopsy and tumor removal (gross total resection, subtotal resection) were included. Stereotactic biopsies were excluded. Demographic data such as age and gender, as well as duration of surgery, diameter of the trepanation, postoperative radiation with interval, postoperative chemotherapy, highest blood glucose level, previous surgery, ASA score, foreign material introduced, subgaleal suction drainage, ventricle opening and length of hospital stay, were recorded. The need for surgical revision due to infection was registered as an SSI. A total of 177 patients were included, of which 14 patients (7.9%) suffered an SSI. These occurred after a median of 45 days. The group with SSIs tended to include more men (57.1%, p = 0.163) and more pre-operated patients (50%, p = 0.125). In addition, foreign material and subgaleal suction drains had been implanted more frequently and the ventricles had been opened more frequently, without reaching statistical significance. Surprisingly, significantly more patients without SSIs had been irradiated (80.3%, p = 0.03). The results enable a better risk assessment of SSIs in glioblastoma patients. Patients with previous surgery, introduced foreign material, subgaleal suction drain and opening of the ventricle may have a slightly higher for SSIs. However, because none of these factors were significant, we should not call them risk factors. A less radical approach to surgery potentially involving these factors is not justified. The postulated negative role of irradiation was not confirmed, hence a rapid chemoradiation should be induced to achieve the best possible oncologic outcome.

Strategies to prevent surgical site infections in acute-care hospitals: 2022 Update

The intent of this document is to highlight practical recommendations in a concise format designed to assist acute-care hospitals in implementing and prioritizing their surgical-site infection (SSI) prevention efforts. This document updates the Strategies to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Acute Care Hospitals published in 2014. This expert guidance document is sponsored by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). It is the product of a collaborative effort led by SHEA, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the American Hospital Association (AHA), and The Joint Commission, with major contributions from representatives of a number of organizations and societies with content expertise.

Effect of powdered vancomycin on stopping surgical site wound infections in neurosurgery: A meta-analysis

We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of powdered vancomycin on stopping surgical site wound infections in neurosurgery. A systematic literature search up to July 2022 was performed and 24 137 subjects with neurosurgery at the baseline of the studies; 10 496 of them were using the powdered vancomycin, and 13 641 were not using the powdered vancomycin as a control. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the effect of powdered vancomycin on stopping surgical site wound infections in neurosurgery using dichotomous methods with a random or fixed-effect model. The powdered vancomycin had significantly lower surgical site wound infections after spinal surgery (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.41-0.70, P < .001), deep surgical site wound infections after spinal surgery (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.35-0.57, P < .001), superficial surgical site wound infections after spinal surgery (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.43-0.83, P = .002), and surgical site wound infections after cranial surgery (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.22-0.61, P < .001) compared to control in subjects with neurosurgery. The powdered vancomycin had significantly lower surgical site wound infections after spinal surgery, deep surgical site wound infections after spinal surgery, superficial surgical site wound infections after spinal surgery, and surgical site wound infections after cranial surgery compared to control in subjects with neurosurgery. The analysis of outcomes should be done with caution even though the low number of studies with low sample size, 3 out of the 42 studies, in the meta-analysis, and a low number of studies in certain comparisons.

Immediate Titanium Mesh Cranioplasty After Debridement and Craniectomy for Postcraniotomy Surgical Site Infections and Risk Factors for Reoperation

BACKGROUND

We previously published a novel strategy for management of postcraniotomy bone flap infection consisting of single stage debridement, bone flap removal, and immediate titanium mesh cranioplasty.

METHODS

Postcraniotomy patients with surgical site infections treated with surgical debridement, bone flap removal, and immediate titanium mesh cranioplasty were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome measure was reoperation due to persistent infection or wound healing complications from the titanium mesh.

RESULTS

We included 48 patients, of which 15 (31.3%) were female. The most common primary diagnoses were glioblastoma (31.3%), meningioma (18.8%), and vascular/trauma (16.7%). Most patients had a history of same-site craniotomy prior to the surgery complicated by surgical site infection and 47.9% had prior cranial radiation. Thirty-six (75.0%) patients achieved resolution of their infection and did not require a second operation. Twelve (25.0%) patients required reoperation: 6 (12.5%) patients were found to have frank intraoperative purulence on reoperation, whereas 6 (12.5%) had reoperation for poor wound healing without any evidence of persistent infection. Cochran Armitage trend test revealed that patients with increasing number of wound healing risk factors had significantly higher risk of reoperation (P = 0.001). Prior intensity modulated radiotherapy alone was a significant risk factor for reoperation (6.5 [1.40-30.31], P = 0.002). Median follow-up time was 20.5 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS

Immediate titanium mesh cranioplasty at the time of debridement and bone flap removal is an acceptable option in the management of post-craniotomy bone flap infection. Patients with multiple wound healing risk factors are at higher risk for reoperation.

The effect of postoperative early lumbar drainage on delayed fever after cerebellopontine angle tumour surgery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Postoperative fever is one of the common complications in neurosurgery, and intracranial aseptic inflammation and infection are important risk factors. Continuous drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) via lumbar drainage (LD) is often used in the treatment of postoperative intracranial infection or aseptic inflammation. Compared with the previously reported placement of LD after the onset of meningitis symptoms, we designed this randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of early drainage (1st day postoperation) of CSF using the preset lumbar cistern to prevent delayed fever (fever occurred after the third day postoperation) or reduce its treatment time after cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumour surgery.

METHODS

Patients suffering from CPA tumours and who underwent resection of the tumour with an intraoperative dura opening time > 4 h are recruited for this study. The study is a 2-arm RCT to compare the early LD group and the no early LD group. Postoperative duration and rate of delayed fever and postoperative length of stay (LOS), as the main outcomes, will be compared in the two groups.

DISCUSSION

Here, we present the study design of a prospective RCT to evaluate the safety and efficacy of using preoperative preset LD to treat or reduce postoperative delayed fever.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

China Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100049057. Registered on July 20, 2021.

Can Currently Suggested Quality Indicators Be Transferred to Meningioma Surgery?-A Single-Center Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

 Risk stratification based on standardized quality measures has become crucial in neurosurgery. Contemporary quality indicators have often been developed for a wide range of neurosurgical procedures collectively. The accuracy of tumor-inherent characteristics of patients diagnosed with meningioma remains questionable. The objective of this study was the analysis of currently applied quality indicators in meningioma surgery and the identification of potential new measures.

METHODS

 Data of 133 patients who were operated on due to intracranial meningiomas were subjected to a retrospective analysis. The primary outcomes of interest were classical quality indicators such as the 30-day readmission, 30-day reoperation, 30-day mortality, 30-day nosocomial infection, and the 30-day surgical site infection rate. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed. The occurrence of a new postoperative neurologic deficit was analyzed as a potential new quality indicator.

RESULTS

 The overall unplanned readmission rate was 3.8%; 13 patients were reoperated within 30 days (9.8%). The 30-day nosocomial infection and surgical site infection rates were 6.8 and 1.5%, respectively. A postoperative new neurologic deficit or neurologic deterioration as a currently assessed quality feature was observed in 12 patients (9.2%). The edema volume on preoperative scans proved to have a significant impact on the occurrence of a new postoperative neurologic deficit (p = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

 Classical quality indicators in neurosurgery have proved to correlate with considerable deterioration of the patient's health in meningioma surgery and thus should be taken into consideration for application in meningioma patients. The occurrence of a new postoperative neurologic deficit is common and procedure specific. Thus, this should be elucidated for application as a complementary quality indicator in meningioma surgery.

Postoperative Early Lumbar Drainage Can Reduce the Duration of Fever or Infection in Patients with Complicated Intracranial Tumors after a Long Operation Time

Background

Intracranial fever or infection is one of the common complications after craniotomy, especially for complicated intracranial tumors such as deep skull base tumors.

Objective

We used early cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage with a preplaced lumbar drainage (LD) tube after surgery and observed whether this procedure could reduce the rate and duration of fever or infection.

Material and Methods

The authors conducted a retrospective study of 142 patients who underwent complicated intracranial tumor surgery with no less than four hours of dural opening at the Center of Neurosurgery of Tangdu Hospital. The LD group underwent preoperative LD placement, intraoperative CSF release and postoperative continuous drainage, but the control group received routine craniotomy without preoperative LD. The primary outcomes included the rate, duration, and hospital length of stay (LOS) for patients with fever or infection after surgery, as compared between the two groups. The second outcome included complications related to LD and the rate of postoperative CSF leakage.

Results

There were 22 patients in the LD group and 23 patients in the control group who presented with delayed fever, which was supposed to be caused by intracranial infection or aseptic inflammation. The median duration of delayed fever in the LD group was obviously lower than that in the control group (7.762 ± 3.129 days vs 11.73 ± 5.239 days), and there was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0046). In addition, there was a significant reduction in the median postoperative LOS (12 [8,10,15,21] days in the LD group vs 15 [9,13,20,28] days in the controls). Moreover, there was no significant difference in complications related to LD between the two groups. Three patients with brain herniation were observed in the LD group compared with one patient in the control group. All four patients had contemporary mild-to-moderate neurologic disorders after surgery or conservative treatment. Additionally, the rate of CSF leakage in the LD group was 5.41% (4/74), which was lower than that in the control group (8/68, [11.76%]), although there was no significant difference (P = 0.174).

Conclusions

For patients receiving complicated intracranial lesions following a long operation time, postoperative early LD was beneficial for the treatment of patients with fever or infection. It not only reduced the duration of infection or fever in postoperative patients but also decreased the postoperative LOS. We should minimize the complications related to LD by careful and standardized LD and management processes, and ensure the effectiveness and safety of this treatment.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) for Cranial Tumor Resection: A Review

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols describe a standardized method of preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative care to enhance outcomes and minimize complication risks surrounding elective surgical intervention. A growing body of evidence is being generated as we learn to apply principles of ERAS standardization to neurosurgical patients. First applied in spinal surgery, ERAS protocols have been extended to cranial neuro-oncological procedures. This review synthesizes recent findings to generate evidence-based guidelines to manage neurosurgical oncology patients with standardized systems and assess ability of these systems to coordinate multidisciplinary, patient-centric care efforts. Furthermore, we highlight the potential utility of multimedia, app-based communication platforms to facilitate patient education, autonomy, and team communication within each of the three settings.

Outcome of Patients with Surgical Site Infection after Craniotomy

Background: The management of surgical site infection (SSI) after craniotomy remains challenging with few existing recommendations. Patients and Methods: We reviewed the medical files of patients who underwent surgery between 2009 and 2018 to manage infection after craniotomy at our tertiary hospital. The Cox proportional hazards model and the Renyi test were used to investigate the association between relapse or all-cause mortality and selected variables. We compared infections with and without intra-cranial involvement using the Fisher test and the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: Seventy-seven episodes of infection were identified in 58 patients. The proportion of relapse was estimated to be 32.2% (± standard deviation [SD] 6.9) at five years. Intra-cranial infection was present in 15.6% of the cases (n = 12). Bone flap was removed in the majority of cases (93.5%) and the overall median duration of antibiotic therapy was six weeks (interquartile range [IQR] 6-12 weeks). Staphylococcus aureus was associated with a higher risk of relapse (p = 0.037). The administration of parenteral antibiotic agents (p = 0.012) and bone flap removal (p = 0.0051) were correlated with less relapse. In contrast, immunosuppressive drug use and radiotherapy were correlated with a higher risk of relapse (p = 0.014 and p = 0.031, respectively) and a higher all-cause mortality (p = 0.0093 and p < 0.0001, respectively). We found no difference between infections with and without intra-cranial involvement. Conclusions: Bone flap removal and parenteral antibiotic agents remain important in the management of SSI after craniotomy and were associated with less relapse in our study. More studies are needed to better determine the optimal treatment of this infection.

Length of preoperative hospital stay is the dominating risk factor for surgical site infection in neurosurgery: A cohort data-driven analysis

Background:

The number of days of preoperative hospital stay (PHS) is a modifiable variable that has shown contradictory surgical site infection (SSI) risk factor results in neurosurgery. We sought to pinpoint the day of PHS length related with a marked increase of risk of SSI.

Methods:

From a tertiary teaching hospital, January 2015–December 2017, prospectively collected nonpercutaneous neurosurgery procedures with standard antibiotic prophylaxis and 1-year follow-up were evaluated. SSI risk factors were assessed through multiple logistic regression models with different thresholds of PHS.

Results:

A total of 1012 procedures were included in the study. Incidence of SSI was 4.4%. The median PHS was higher in those with SSI than in those without (1 day, interquartile range [IQR]: 7 vs. 0 days, IQR: 1, respectively, P = 0.002). By the amount of six days of PHS, this exposure risk past the threshold of significance for impact on wound infection (OR 2.8; CI 1.23–6.39, P = 0.014). Operative time past 4 h (OR 2.11; CI 1.12-3.98; P = 0.021), and in some models, previous surgery at same admission were also identified by multivariate analysis as increasing postoperative SSI risk.

Conclusion:

The gradual increase of the SSI OR associated with longer PHS days was the highest risk factor of SSI in our cohort of patients. Studies directed to reduce this complication should consider the PHS.

Nonemergent craniotomy surgical site infection: a retrospective cohort study

Background

The incidence of surgical site infection after craniotomy (SSI-CRAN) varies widely and is associated with major consequences. The aim of this study is to estimate the SSI-CRAN rate at the neurosurgery department of a tertiary center and to establish its risk factors.

Methods

All consecutive adult patients who underwent elective craniotomy for tumor resection at a tertiary center from January 2018 to October 2019 were retrospectively assessed. Demographic, clinical, and surgical data were collected. The main outcome of our study was the development of SSI within 30days postsurgery, as defined by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control guidelines. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to establish risk factors for SSI-CRAN.

Results

From the 271 patients enrolled in this study, 15 (5.5%) developed SSI-CRAN within 30days postsurgery, 11 (73.3%) of which were organ-space. The most common causative microorganisms isolated were gram-positive cocci, particularly Staphylococcus epidermidis (n = 4, 66.7%). In the univariate analysis, absence of normothermia and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak were associated with SSI-CRAN. In the multivariate analysis, normothermia was the only protective factor and CSF leak was the only independent risk factor for SSI-CRAN.

Conclusion

The cumulative incidence of SSI-CRAN within 30days postsurgery was 5.5%. CSF leak and the absence of normothermia were the only independent risk factors for SSI-CRAN. The data provided in this study should be considered in the design of preventive strategies aimed to reduce the incidence of SSI.

Applicability of contemporary quality indicators in vestibular surgery-do they accurately measure tumor inherent postoperative complications of vestibular schwannomas?

Background

Due to rising costs in health care delivery, reimbursement decisions have progressively been based on quality measures. Such quality indicators have been developed for neurosurgical procedures, collectively. We aimed to evaluate their applicability in patients that underwent surgery for vestibular schwannoma and to identify potential new disease-specific quality indicators.

Methods

One hundred and three patients operated due to vestibular schwannoma were subject to analysis. The primary outcomes of interest were 30-day and 90-day reoperation, readmission, mortality, nosocomial infection and surgical site infection (SSI) rates, postoperative cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) leak, facial, and hearing function. The secondary aim was the identification of prognostic factors for the mentioned primary outcomes.

Results

Thirty-day (90-days) outcomes in terms of reoperation were 10.7% (14.6%), readmission 9.7% (13.6%), mortality 1% (1%), nosocomial infection 5.8%, and SSI 1% (1%). A 30- versus 90-day outcome in terms of CSF leak were 6.8% vs. 10.7%, new facial nerve palsy 16.5% vs. 6.1%. Hearing impairment from serviceable to non-serviceable hearing was 6.8% at both 30- and 90-day outcome. The degree of tumor extension has a significant impact on reoperation (p < 0.001), infection (p = 0.015), postoperative hemorrhage (p < 0.001), and postoperative hearing loss (p = 0.026).

Conclusions

Our data demonstrate the importance of entity-specific quality measurements being applied even after 30 days. We identified the occurrence of a CSF leak within 90 days postoperatively, new persistent facial nerve palsy still present 90 days postoperatively, and persisting postoperative hearing impairment to non-serviceable hearing as potential new quality measurement variables for patients undergoing surgery for vestibular schwannoma.

Perioperative Factors Affecting Readmission After Awake Craniotomy: Analysis of 609 Consecutive Cases

BACKGROUND

Awake craniotomy is being used widely for tumors near eloquent areas of the brain and also to facilitate early discharge from the hospital. Although most of the complications occur early in the postoperative period, there is a certain risk of delayed postoperative adverse events after discharge. This study investigated the incidence and the risk factors for postdischarge readmission after awake surgeries.

METHODS

This was a single-institution cohort study of 609 awake craniotomies by one surgeon at Toronto Western Hospital, 2006-2018.

RESULTS

Of 609 cases, 562 cases were available for analyses on postoperative readmission. In total, 6.0% (34 cases) were readmitted for medical reasons within 30 days after surgery, including neurologic decline (n = 9, 1.6%), infection at the surgical site (n = 8, 1.4%), followed by seizure (n = 5, 0.9%). Preoperative history of seizure (generalized or complex) was associated with readmission (P = 0.02). Eight of these plus 6 other cases experienced reoperation, and all the cases were due to infection but one (intraventricular hemorrhage). Investigations on correlations between perioperative factors and the reoperation found that redo surgery and findings of hemorrhage on postoperative imaging were significantly associated with reoperation (P = 0.0032, 0.0104 on multivariate analyses, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Although age, malignancy, or preoperative performance status were not related to readmission or reoperation, redo surgery cases and cases with postoperative hematoma were found to be at an increased risk for reoperation. Special attention and care need to be paid to these cases for potential complications after discharge, especially in situations in which patients tend to be discharged early after awake surgeries.

Operative duration and early outcomes in patients having a supratentorial craniotomy for brain tumor: A propensity matched analysis

It is unclear how variations in operative duration affect outcomes after craniotomy for supratentorial brain tumor. We characterized three populations of patients with typical, shorter, and longer durations of craniotomy for supratentorial brain tumor using prospectively collected clinical data from 16,335 patients in the 2012-2018 ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. We compared baseline characteristics including demographics, comorbidities, tumor type, and operative features. We used propensity score matching to attain covariate balance and logistic regression to assess odds of unfavorable outcomes. Patients with the shortest operation durations tended to be older, with fewer males, higher ASA class, more metastatic brain tumors, more medical comorbidities, and less use of intraoperative microscope or ultrasound. Patients with the longest operative durations tended to be younger, with more males, fewer non-white minorities, more obesity, lower ASA classes, more intrinsic brain tumors, fewer medical comorbidities, fewer emergency operations, and increased use of intraoperative microscope. For patients with the shortest operations, after matching, we observed significantly decreased odds of prolonged length-of-stay (LOS), major complication, any complication, reoperation, and discharge to a facility; however, there was a significantly increased risk of 30-day mortality. For patients with the longest operations, after matching, we observed significantly increased odds of prolonged LOS; minor, major, and any complication; discharge to facility; and 30-day reoperation. After matching to balance baseline characteristics, operative duration has implications for outcomes following craniotomy for supratentorial brain tumor.

Recursive partitioning analysis of factors determining infection after intracranial tumor surgery

OBJECTIVES

Several factors are commonly associated with the occurrence of post-operative infection after craniotomy. However, the risk factors associated with tumor surgery have been less intensively investigated. The aim of the present study was to analyze the risk factors for infection and categorize patients according to risk rate.

METHODS

In this study, we retrospectively evaluated 987 adult patients consecutively submitted to craniotomy for tumor resection. The primary outcome was the occurrence of infection within 30 days after surgery. The following independent variables were assessed: age, gender, surgery duration, length of hospital stay prior to surgery, reoperation, body mass index, serum albumin, hemoglobin, lactic dehydrogenase, smoking, diabetes, corticoid use, preoperative chemotherapy, previous irradiation, elective or urgent indication for surgery, supra or infratentorial lesion location, and tumor histology. We performed a recursive partitioning analysis to assess the relative importance of these variables in predicting infection.

RESULTS

The model returned a 3-level classification: 1. CSF-leakage (relative contribution 70%), 2. Emergency surgery indication (18%), and 3. Tumor histology (8%). Additionally, partitioning clustered together 3 risk groups: 1. CSF-leakage group (probability of infection 72.5%), 2. No CSF-leakage and urgent surgery (mean probability 18.1%); and 3. no CSF-leakage and no urgent surgery (3.4%). The misclassification rate was 4.5%, the overall specificity and sensitivity were 99.6% and 75.5%, respectively, and the area under the ROC-curve was 0.6908.

CONCLUSION

Our analysis indicates that technical and treatment-related factors are significantly more relevant than patient- or disease-related factors in determining the risk of postoperative infection.

Does the Presence of a Preexisting Open Wound Increase Complication Risk for Implant Procedures?

ABSTRACT

Despite limited evidence, a common belief in surgical practice is that patients should not undergo elective surgery until any open wounds heal because of the risk of seeding infection to the new surgical site. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze postoperative complication rates for implants placed in the context of open wounds using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. We examined 30-day postoperative infections for breast, hip, knee, and spine implants using the 2012-2016 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Patients were excluded for missing data and propensity matched 1:10 for demographics and comorbidities to minimize confounders. Complication rates were assessed using Pearson χ2 tests. Of 475,101 patients who received breast, hip, knee, or spine implants, 1491 did so with an open wound. After propensity score matching, the overall complication rate remained higher with the open wound cohort (6.7% vs 3.8%, P < 0.001). Although the presence of an open wound was associated with an increased risk of superficial surgical site infection, it was not associated with an increased risk of organ space surgical site infection, the site best correlated with infection at the implant. Nor was the presence of an open wound associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of deep incisional surgical site infection or wound dehiscence. After controlling for demographics, preoperative comorbidities, and surgical factors, the presence of an open wound before implant surgery is associated with an increased risk of complications, readmission, and reoperation, but not necessarily infection at the surgical site.

Using a Data-Driven Improvement Methodology to Decrease Surgical Site Infections in a Community Neurosurgery Practice: Optimizing Preoperative Screening and Perioperative Antibiotics

OBJECTIVE

We used a data-driven methodology to decrease the departmental surgical site infection rate to a goal of 1%.

METHODS

A prospective interventional study with historical controls comparing preimplementation/intervention (unknown methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus [MSSA]/methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] status and standard weight and drug allergy-based preoperative antibiotics) with postimplementation/intervention (optimized preoperative chlorhexidine showers, MSSA/MRSA screening, MSSA/MRSA decolonization, and optimized preoperative antibiotic order set implementation). The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was used for case surveillance. The primary outcome was the presence of a surgical site infection with a secondary outcome of cost(s) of implementation.

RESULTS

A total of 317 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program abstracted neurosurgical cases were analyzed, 163 cases before implementation and 154 cases after implementation. There were no significant differences between the preimplementation and postimplementation cohorts regarding patient demographics and baseline comorbidities, with the exceptions of inpatient and functional status (P < 0.001). The most common procedures were lumbar decompression (31%), lumbar discectomy (27%), and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (10.4%). After implementation, 30 patients were MSSA positive (20%) and 4 MRSA positive (2.6%). Thirty patients received preoperative intranasal mupirocin decolonization (88%), and 4 patients received adjusted preoperative antibiotics (12%). After protocol implementation, the surgical site infection rate decreased from 6.7% (odds ratio, 2.82) to 0.96% (odds ratio, 0.91). The cost of implementation was $27,179, or $58 per patient.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight the importance of systematically investigating areas of gap in existing clinical practice and quality improvement projects to increase patient safety and enhance the value of care delivered to neurosurgical patients.

The Rate of Infectious Complications After Intrathecal Drug Delivery System Implant for Cancer-Related Pain Is Low Despite Frequent Concurrent Anticancer Treatment or Leukopenia

BACKGROUND

The efficacy of intrathecal drug delivery (IDD) for cancer-related pain is well established. Cancer therapies are often associated with immunosuppression and increased risk of infection, and the rate of infection after intrathecal drug delivery system (IDDS) implant in cancer patients has been reported as 2.4%-6.3%. Our objective is to report on the rate of surgical site infections (SSI) in patients implanted with IDDS for cancer-related pain and to provide a data-driven discussion on the relationship between antineoplastic treatment, leukopenia, and other clinical or demographic characteristics and SSI.

METHODS

Following local institutional review board approval, we conducted a retrospective chart review of IDDS implants from May 2014 through December 2018. Data collected included demographic data, health status, prophylactic antibiotic administration, surgery duration, presence of leukopenia (white blood cell [WBC] count of <4.0 K/µL) or moderate neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count [ANC] of <1000/μL) within the 30 days before IDDS implant, and details of antineoplastic treatment or systemic corticosteroid use in the perioperative period. This information was assessed in relation to SSI incidence up to 6 months following implant.

RESULTS

Two hundred seventeen IDDS implants were identified. A majority of patients (79.3%) received ≥1 form of antineoplastic therapy within 30 days before or after implant, and 42.4% received multiple forms of antineoplastic therapy. Therapies included chemotherapy in 46.5%, immunotherapy in 28.6%, systemic steroids in 32.3%, and radiation therapy in 28.1%. One-quarter of patients (25.8%) were leukopenic within 30 days before implant, with 3.2% having moderate neutropenia. There were 2 infectious complications representing an infection rate of 0.9% (95% CI, 0.1%-3.3%), with limited shared characteristics between those experiencing SSI.

CONCLUSIONS

SSI risk after IDDS placement for cancer pain is low, despite frequent concurrent antineoplastic therapy and leukopenia in the perioperative period. Concomitant cancer therapies should not be a barrier to the implementation of IDD for cancer pain.

A 10-Year Analysis of 3693 Craniotomies during a Transition to Multidisciplinary Teams, Protocols, and Pathways

INTRODUCTION

A Cochrane review of teams, protocols, and pathways demonstrated improved care efficiency and outcomes over a traditional model. Little is known about this approach for craniotomy.

METHODS

This observational study involved sequential implementation of a multidisciplinary team, protocols, and a craniotomy pathway. Data on 3693 admissions were retrospectively reviewed at a tertiary care neurosurgery center from 2008 to 2017 for the top 6 diagnosis-related group codes. In June 2016, a searchable discharge summary template in the electronic medical record was implemented to capture data regarding quality, efficiency, and outcomes.

RESULTS

Staffing transitioned to a team of neurosurgeons, neurointensivists, neurohospitalists, and midlevel practitioners. Order sets, protocols, and pathways were developed. Quality improvements were observed for craniotomy and cranioplasty surgical site infections, ventriculitis, coagulopathy reversal, and decompressive hemicraniectomy rates for stroke. Case volume increased 73%, yet craniotomy hospital days decreased from 2768 in 2008 to 2599 in 2017 because of reduced length of stay. We accommodated service line growth without hospital expansion or case backlogs. With an average California hospital day rate of $3341, the improved length of stay decreased costs by $14,666,990/y. We also present outcomes data, including craniotomy indications, operative timing, complications, functional outcomes, delays in discharge, and discharge destinations using the craniotomy discharge summary.

CONCLUSION

Multidisciplinary teams, protocols, and pathways reduced craniotomy complication rates, improved hospital length of stay by 63%, reduced costs, and increased professional collegiality and satisfaction. A searchable craniotomy discharge summary is an important tool for continuous monitoring of quality and efficiency of care.

Quality of British and American Nationwide Quality of Care and Patient Safety Benchmarking Programs: Case Neurosurgery

BACKGROUND

Multiple nationwide outcome registries are utilized for quality benchmarking between institutions and individual surgeons.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether nationwide quality of care programs in the United Kingdom and United States can measure differences in neurosurgical quality.

METHODS

This prospective observational study comprised 418 consecutive adult patients undergoing elective craniotomy at Helsinki University Hospital between December 7, 2011 and December 31, 2012.We recorded outcome event rates and categorized them according to British Neurosurgical National Audit Programme (NNAP), American National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), and American National Neurosurgery Quality and Outcomes Database (N2QOD) to assess the applicability of these programs for quality benchmarking and estimated sample sizes required for reliable quality comparisons.

RESULTS

The rate of in-hospital major and minor morbidity was 18.7% and 38.0%, respectively, and 30-d mortality rate was 2.4%. The NSQIP criteria identified 96.2% of major but only 38.4% of minor complications. N2QOD performed better, but almost one-fourth (23.2%) of all patients with adverse outcomes, mostly minor, went unnoticed. For NNAP, a sample size of over 4200 patients per surgeon is required to detect a 50.0% increase in mortality rates between surgeons. The sample size required for reliable comparisons between the rates of complications exceeds 600 patients per center per year.

CONCLUSION

The implemented benchmarking programs in the United Kingdom and United States fail to identify a considerable number of complications in a high-volume center. Health care policy makers should be cautious as outcome comparisons between most centers and individual surgeons are questionable if based on the programs.

Reporting Methodology of Neurosurgical Studies Utilizing the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Database: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal

BACKGROUND

Use of large databases such as the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) has become increasingly common in neurosurgical research.

OBJECTIVE

To perform a critical appraisal and evaluation of the methodological reporting for studies in neurosurgical literature that utilize the ACS-NSQIP database.

METHODS

We queried Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed databases for all neurosurgical studies utilizing the ACS-NSQIP. We assessed each study according to number of criteria fulfilled with respect to Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement, REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected Health Data (RECORD) Statement, and Journal of American Medical Association–Surgical Section (JAMA-Surgery) Checklist. A separate analysis was conducted among papers published in core and noncore journals in neurosurgery according to Bradford's law.

RESULTS

A total of 117 studies were included. Median (interquartile range [IQR]) scores for number of fulfilled criteria for STROBE Statement, RECORD Statement, and JAMA-Surgery Checklist were 20 (IQR:19-21), 9 (IQR:8-9), and 6 (IQR:5-6), respectively. For STROBE Statement, RECORD Statement, and JAMA-Surgery Checklist, item 9 (potential sources of bias), item 13 (supplemental information), and item 9 (missing data/sensitivity analysis) had the highest number of studies with no fulfillment among all studies (56, 68, 50%), respectively. When comparing core journals vs noncore journals, no significant difference was found (STROBE, P = .94; RECORD, P = .24; JAMA-Surgery checklist, P = .60).

CONCLUSION

While we observed an overall satisfactory reporting of methodology, most studies lacked mention of potential sources of bias, data cleaning methods, supplemental information, and external validity. Given the pervasive role of national databases and registries for research and health care policy, the surgical community needs to ensure the credibility and quality of such studies that ultimately aim to improve the value of surgical care delivery to patients.

Risk factors for surgical site infection after craniotomy: a prospective cohort study

Background

Although surgical site infection after craniotomy (SSI-CRAN) is a serious complication, risk factors for its development have not been well defined. We aim to identify the risk factors for developing SSI-CRAN in a large prospective cohort of adult patients undergoing craniotomy.

Methods

A series of consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy at a university hospital from January 2013 to December 2015 were prospectively assessed. Demographic, epidemiological, surgical, clinical and microbiological data were collected. Patients were followed up in an active post-discharge surveillance programm e for up to one year after surgery. Multivariate analysis was carried out to identify independent risk factors for SSI-CRAN.

Results

Among the 595 patients who underwent craniotomy, 91 (15.3%) episodes of SSI-CRAN were recorded, 67 (73.6%) of which were organ/space. Baseline demographic characteristics were similar among patients who developed SSI-CRAN and those who did not. The most frequent causative Gram-positive organisms were Cutibacterium acnes (23.1%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (23.1%), whereas Enterobacter cloacae (12.1%) was the most commonly isolated Gram-negative agent. In the univariate analysis the factors associated with SSI-CRAN were ASA score > 2 (48.4% vs. 35.5% in SSI-CRAN and no SSI-CRAN respectively, p = 0.025), extrinsic tumour (28.6% vs. 19.2%, p = 0.05), and re-intervention (4.4% vs. 1.4%, p = < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, ASA score > 2 (AOR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.32-3.87; p = .003) and re-intervention (OR: 8.93, 95% CI: 5.33-14.96; p < 0.001) were the only factors independently associated with SSI-CRAN.

Conclusion

The risk factors and causative agents of SSI-CRAN identified in this study should be considered in the design of preventive strategies aimed to reduce the incidence of this serious complication.

Epidemiology of Surgical Site Infections and Non-Surgical Infections in Neurosurgical Polish Patients-Substantial Changes in 2003⁻2017

Introduction: The objective of the analysis was to determine the epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in neurosurgical patients, paying special attention to two time points, 2003 and 2017, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a surveillance program introduced in 2003 and efforts to reduce infection rates. Materials and methods: Continuous surveillance during 2003⁻2017 carried out using the HAI-Net methodology allowed us to detect 476 cases of HAIs among 10,332 patients staying in a 42-bed neurosurgery unit. The intervention in this before⁻after study (2003⁻2017) comprised standardized HAI surveillance with regular analysis and feedback. Results: The HAI incidence during the whole study was 4.6%. Surgical site infections (SSIs) accounted for 33% of all HAIs with an incidence rate of 1.5%. The remaining infections were pneumonia (1.1%) and bloodstream infections (0.9%). The highest SSI incidence concerned spinal fusion (FUSN, 2.2%), craniotomy (1.9%), and ventricular shunt (5.1%) while the associated total HAI incidence rates were 4.1%, 8.0%, and 18.6%, respectively. A significant reduction was found in HAI incidence between 2003 and 2017 in regard to the most common surgery types: laminectomy (4.5% vs. 0.8%); FUSN (11.8% vs. 0.8%); and craniotomy (10.1% vs. 0.4%). Significant changes were also achieved in selected elements of the unit's work: pre-hospitalization duration, hospital stay, and surgery length reductions. Simultaneously, the general condition of patients became significantly worse: there was an increase in patients' age and decreases in their general condition as expressed by ASA scores (The American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification system). Conclusions: HAI epidemiology changed substantially during the study period. Among the main types of HAI, SSIs were slightly predominant, but non-surgical HAIs accounted for almost two thirds of all infections; this indicates the need for surveillance of infection types other than SSIs in surgical patients. The implementation of active surveillance based on regular analysis and feedback led to a significant reduction in HAI incidence.

Adverse events in brain tumor surgery: incidence, type, and impact on current quality metrics

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study was to determine pre-operative factors associated with adverse events occurring within 30 days after neurosurgical tumor treatment in a German center, adjusting for their incidence in order to prospectively compare different centers.

METHODS

Adult patients that were hospitalized due to a benign or malignant brain were retrospectively assessed for quality indicators and adverse events. Analyses were performed in order to determine risk factors for adverse events and reasons for readmission and reoperation.

RESULTS

A total of 2511 cases were enrolled. The 30 days unplanned readmission rate to the same hospital was 5.7%. The main reason for readmission was tumor progression. Every 10th patient had an unplanned reoperation. The incidence of surgical revisions due to infections was 2.3%. Taking together all monitored adverse events, male patients had a higher risk for any of these complications (OR 1.236, 95%CI 1.025-1.490, p = 0.027). Age, sex, and histological diagnosis were predictors of experiencing any complication. Adjusted by incidence, the increased risk ratios greater than 10.0% were found for male sex, age, metastatic tumor, and hemiplegia for various quality indicators.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that most predictors of outcome rates are based on preoperative underlying medical conditions and are not modifiable by the surgeon. Comparing our results to the literature, we conclude that differences in readmission and reoperation rates are strongly influenced by standards in decision making and that comparison of outcome rates between different health-care providers on an international basis is challenging. Each health-care system has to develop own metrics for risk adjustment that require regular reassessment.

The implementation of an infection prevention bundle reduces surgical site infections following cranial surgery

BACKGROUND

The benefit of an infection prevention bundle made up of five basic procedures to avoid surgical site infections (SSIs) following cranial surgery was evaluated.

METHODS

Data from all patients with first time elective brain surgery from March 2014 till May 2016 were analyzed. In April 2015, an infection prevention bundle was implemented. The rate of SSIs after first time elective cranial surgery of patients operated 1 year before and 1 year after the implementation was compared.

RESULTS

Of the 321 cases operated before the implementation of the infection prevention bundle, 13 cases (4%) developed a SSI. After the implementation, only 6 patients out of 288 were re-operated due to a SSI (2%). The most frequent etiological germ cultivated was Staphylococcus aureus.

CONCLUSION

The implementation of a bundle of 5 basic infection prevention steps leads to a clinical relevant reduction of SSIs.

Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patient with Cranioplasty in Situ: Safe and Accurate Procedure

BACKGROUND

Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) is a nonsurgical mapping technique used in mapping of motor and language eloquent areas within and/or surrounding brain tumors. Previous reports support this as a safe technique with minor side effects associated with minor headaches and discomfort around the stimulation area. Currently there are no published reports concerning the accuracy and safety of this procedure in patients with a titanium cranioplasty in situ.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 59-year-old lady was diagnosed with a recurrent glioma in the context of increasing seizure frequency, left-sided numbness, and weakness. She was diagnosed with a World Health Organization grade 2 oligodendroglioma 10 years before her presentation, which was initially treated with radiotherapy and then surgical resection of this lesion 5 years later. The procedure was complicated with a wound infection, treated with a craniectomy and wound washout, followed by a titanium cranioplasty. Before proceeding with surgery for recurrence, nTMS was performed for motor mapping. No complications were identified. She underwent a craniotomy for tumor resection with aminolevulinic acid HCl (Gliolan), and the tumor was completely removed. Intraoperatively, the direct cortical stimulation correlated with the preoperative nTMS. The pathologic diagnosis on recurrence was an anaplastic oligodendroglioma grade III, and the patient is currently undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

This report confirms that nTMS is a safe and accurate procedure in patients who have a titanium cranioplasty in situ.

Predictors of Surgical Site Infection After Nonemergent Craniotomy: A Nationwide Readmission Database Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Surgical site infections (SSIs) carry significant patient morbidity and mortality and are a major source of readmissions after craniotomy. Because of their deleterious effects on health care outcomes and costs, identifying modifiable risk factors holds tremendous value. However, because SSIs after craniotomy are rare and most existing data comprise single-institution studies with small sample sizes, many are likely underpowered to discern for such factors. The objective of this study was to use a large hetereogenous patient sample to determine SSI incidence after nonemergent craniotomy and identify factors associated with readmission and subsequent need for wound washout.

METHODS

We used the 2010-2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database cohorts to discern for factors predictive of SSI and washout.

RESULTS

We identified 93,920 nonemergent craniotomies. There were 2079 cases of SSI (2.2%) and 835 reoperations for washout (0.89%) within 30 days of index admission and there were 2761 cases of SSI (3.6%) and 1220 reoperations for washout (1.58%) within 90 days. Several factors were predictive of SSI in multivariate analysis, including tumor operations, external ventricular drain (EVD), age, length of stay, diabetes, discharge to an intermediate-care facility, insurance type, and hospital bed size. Many of these factors were similarly implicated in reoperation for washout.

CONCLUSIONS

SSI incidence in neurosurgery is low and most readmissions occur within 30 days. Several factors predicted SSI after craniotomy, including operations for tumor, younger age, hospitalization length, diabetes, discharge to institutional care, larger hospital bed size, Medicaid insurance, and presence of an EVD. Diabetes and EVD placement may represent modifiable factors that could be explored in subsequent prospective studies for their associations with cranial SSIs.

Female radical cystectomy patients have a higher risk of surgical site infections

INTRODUCTION

Surgical site infections (SSI) are common after radical cystectomy. The objectives of this study were to evaluate if female sex is associated with postoperative SSI and if experiencing an SSI was associated with subsequent adverse events.

METHODS

This was a historical cohort study of radical cystectomy patients from the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database between 2006 and 2016. The primary outcome was development of a SSI (superficial, deep, or organ/abdominal space) within 30 days of surgery. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between sex and other patient/procedural factors with SSI. Female patients with SSI were also compared to those without SSI to determine risk of subsequent adverse events.

RESULTS

A total of 9,275 radical cystectomy patients met the inclusion criteria. SSI occurred in 1,277(13.7%) patients, 308 (16.4%) females and 969 (13.1%) males (odds ratio = 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.10-1.47; P = 0.009). Infections were superficial in 150 (8.0%) females versus 410 (5.5%) males (P < 0.0001), deep in 40 (2.1%) females versus 114 (1.5%) males (P = 0.07), and organ/abdominal space in 118 (6.2%) females versus 445 (6.0%) males (P = 0.66). On multivariable analysis, female sex was independently associated with SSI (odds ratio = 1.21 confidence interval 1.01-1.43 P = 0.03). Females who experience SSI had higher probability of developing other complications including wound dehiscence, septic shock, and need for reoperation (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Female sex is an independent risk factor for SSI following radical cystectomy. More detailed study of patient factors, pathogenic microbes, and treatment factors are needed to prescribe the best measures for infection prophylaxis.

What interventions are performed in daily practice to prevent surgical site infections in neurosurgical patients? Findings from an explorative survey

Aim

The primary aim of the study was to describe the perioperative care ensured on a daily basis to prevent surgical site infection in Italian neurosurgeries; the secondary aim was to explore surgical site infections 30 days after the surgical procedures.

Methods

Patients cared for in 16 neurosurgical units who (a) were ≥18 years of age, (b) underwent neurosurgical procedures, and (c) were willing to participate in the study were taken into account.

Results

A total of 383 patients were included. A preoperative shower was performed in 332 cases (86.7%), shaving in 318 (83%) cases, and antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in 293 (76.5%) cases. Surgical site disinfection was performed mainly with povidone–iodine (344; 89.8%). A surgical site dressing was applied in 376 (98.2%) cases and was changed on average after 37.8h for shaved and 39h for non-shaved patients. Postoperative shampooing was performed only in 74 (19.3%) cases. Surgical site infection at 30 days occurred in three (0.8%) patients. Discussion and conclusions: Perioperative care aimed at preventing surgical site infections is variable across Italian neurosurgical units. More studies aimed at developing evidence capable of supporting decision-making processes in neurosurgery care are strongly recommended.

Unplanned Reoperation After Craniotomy for Tumor: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Analysis

BACKGROUND

Reoperation has been increasingly utilized as a metric evaluating quality of care.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the rate of, reasons for, and predictors of unplanned reoperation after craniotomy for tumor in a nationally accrued population.

METHODS

Patients who underwent cranial tumor resection were extracted from the prospective National Surgical Quality Improvement Program registry (2012-2014). Multivariate logistic regression examined predictors of unplanned cranial reoperation. Predictors screened included patient age, sex, tumor location and histology, functional status, comorbidities, preoperative laboratory values, operative urgency, and time.

RESULTS

Of the 11 462 patients included, 3.1% (n = 350) underwent an unplanned cranial reoperation. The most common reasons for cranial reoperation were intracranial hematoma evacuation (22.5%), superficial or intracranial surgical site infections (11.9%), re-resection of tumor (8.4%), decompressive craniectomy (6.1%), and repair of cerebrospinal fluid leakage (5.6%). The strongest predictor of any cranial reoperation was preoperative thrombocytopenia (less than 100 000/μL, odds ratio [OR] = 2.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23-5.10, P = .01). Thrombocytopenia, hypertension, emergent surgery, and longer operative time were predictors of reoperation for hematoma (P ≤ .004), while dependent functional status, morbid obesity, leukocytosis, and longer operative time were predictors of reoperation for infection (P < .05). Although any unplanned cranial reoperation was not associated with differential odds of mortality (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 0.94-3.00, P = .08), hematoma evacuation was significantly associated with thirty-day death (P = .04).

CONCLUSION

In this national analysis, unplanned cranial reoperation was primarily associated with operative indices, rather than preoperative characteristics, suggesting that reoperation may have some utility as a quality indicator. However, hypertension and thrombocytopenia were potentially modifiable predictors of reoperation.

Analysis of hospital infection register indicates that the implementation of WHO surgical safety checklist has an impact on early postoperative neurosurgical infections

WHO surgical safety checklist has been proven to reduce postoperative infections in several studies. The aim of our study was to focus on surgical site infections (SSIs) after neurosurgical operations, and to determine whether the checklist implementation would have an impact on the reported SSIs. We used hospital-acquired infection (HAI) register to evaluate the effects of WHO surgical safety checklist in neurosurgery. The HAI register was searched for superficial and deep SSIs, deep organ SSIs, infections following orthopaedic implantation, and other surgical infections of 4678 neurosurgical patients operated on between 2007 and 2011. The data analysis consisted of 95 and 104 neurosurgical postoperative infections before and after the checklist implementation. Time from operation to infection was shorter before than after checklist implementation (p = 0.039), indicating a positive effect of the checklist use in the onset of early HAIs. The overall incidence of SSIs of all neurosurgical patients did not differ (4.1% and 4.5%, respectively) and no differences were noticed in the incidences of the subgroups of superficial SSIs, deep SSIs, and deep organ SSIs. The reduction in early postoperative infection rate along with checklist implementation, but not in the long run indicates the complexity of preventing HAIs in neurosurgical patients and need for a multistep infection control approach.

Potential impact of invasive surgical procedures on primary tumor growth and metastasis

Surgical procedures such as tumor resection and biopsy are still the gold standard for diagnosis and (determination of) treatment of solid tumors, and are prognostically beneficial for patients. However, growing evidence suggests that even a minor surgical trauma can influence several (patho) physiological processes that might promote postoperative metastatic spread and tumor recurrence. Local effects include tumor seeding and a wound healing response that can promote tumor cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, extracellular matrix remodeling, angiogenesis and extravasation. In addition, local and systemic immunosuppression impairs antitumor immunity and contributes to tumor cell survival. Surgical manipulation of the tumor can result in cancer cell release into the circulation, thus increasing the chance of tumor cell dissemination. To prevent these undesired effects of surgical interventions, therapeutic strategies targeting immune response exacerbation or alteration have been proposed. This review summarizes the current literature regarding these local, systemic and secondary site effects of surgical interventions on tumor progression and dissemination, and discusses studies that aimed to identify potential therapeutic approaches to prevent these effects in order to further increase the clinical benefit from surgical procedures.

Thirty-day postoperative morbidity and mortality after temporal lobectomy for medically refractory epilepsy

OBJECTIVE

Temporal lobectomy is a well-established treatment modality for the management of medically refractory epilepsy in appropriately selected patients. The aim of this study was to assess 30-day morbidity and mortality after temporal lobectomy in cases registered in a national database.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted using a multiinstitutional surgical registry compiled between 2006 and 2014. The authors identified patients who underwent anterior temporal lobectomy and/or amygdalohippocampectomy for a primary diagnosis of intractable epilepsy. Univariate and multivariable analyses with regard to patient demographics, comorbidities, operative characteristics, and 30-day outcomes were applied.

RESULTS

A total of 216 patients were included in the study. The median age was 38 years and 46% of patients were male. The median length of stay was 3 days and the 30-day mortality rate was 1.4%. Fourteen patients (6.5%) developed at least one major complication. Return to the operating room was observed in 7 patients (3.2%). Readmission within 30 days and discharge to a location other than home were available for 2011–2014 (n = 155) and occurred in 11% and 10.3% of patients, respectively. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that increasing age was an independent predictor of discharge disposition other than home and that male sex was a significant risk factor for the development of a major complication. Interestingly, the presence of the attending neurosurgeon and a resident during the procedure was significantly associated with decreased odds of prolonged length of stay (i.e., > 75th percentile [5 days]) and discharge to a location other than home.

CONCLUSIONS

Using a multiinstitutional surgical registry, 30-day outcome data after temporal lobectomy for medically intractable epilepsy demonstrates a mortality rate of 1.4%, a major complication rate of 6.5%, and a readmission rate of 11%. Temporal lobectomy is an extremely effective therapy for seizures originating there—however, surgical intervention must be weighed against its morbidity and mortality outcomes.

Surgical Site Infection after Malignant Brain Tumor Resection: A Multicenter Study for Induction of a Basic Care Bundle

Patients with malignant brain tumors are possibly at increased risk for surgical site infections (SSIs) considering the various medical situations associated with the disease. However, the actual rate of SSI after malignant brain tumor resection has not been well established, despite the potential impact of SSI on patient outcome. To investigate the incidence of SSI following malignant brain tumor surgery, we performed a retrospective study in 3 neurosurgical units. Subsequently, aiming at the reduction of incidence of SSI, we performed a prospective study using a care bundle technique in the same units. The SSI incidence in the retrospective (n = 161) and prospective studies (n = 68) were 4.3% and 4.4%, respectively, similar to the previously reports on general craniotomies. A care bundle does not appear to enhance prevention of SSI. However, future, large studies with a new care bundle should be planned based on a zero tolerance policy.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of procalcitonin for early intracranial infection after craniotomy

Intracranial infection is a common clinical complication after craniotomy. We aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic value of dynamic changing procalcitonin (PCT) in early intracranial infection after craniotomy. A prospective study was performed on 93 patients suspected of intracranial infection after craniotomy. Routine peripheral venous blood was collected on the day of admission, and C reactive protein (CRP) and PCT levels were measured. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was collected for routine biochemical, PCT and culture assessment. Serum and CSF analysis continued on days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. The patients were divided into intracranial infection group and non-intracranial infection group; intracranial infection group was further divided into infection controlled group and infection uncontrolled group. Thirty-five patients were confirmed with intracranial infection after craniotomy according to the diagnostic criteria. The serum and cerebrospinal fluid PCT levels in the infected group were significantly higher than the non-infected group on day 1 (P<0.05, P<0.01). The area under curve of receiver operating characteristics was 0.803 for CSF PCT in diagnosing intracranial infection. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of CSF PCT was superior to other indicators. The serum and CSF PCT levels have potential value in the early diagnosis of intracranial infection after craniotomy. Since CSF PCT levels have higher sensitivity and specificity, dynamic changes in this parameter could be used for early detection of intracranial infection after craniotomy, combined with other biochemical indicators.

Patients at High-Risk for Surgical Site Infection

BACKGROUND

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a significant healthcare quality issue, resulting in increased morbidity, disability, length of stay, resource utilization, and costs. Identification of high-risk patients may improve pre-operative counseling, inform resource utilization, and allow modifications in peri-operative management to optimize outcomes.

METHODS

Review of the pertinent English-language literature.

RESULTS

High-risk surgical patients may be identified on the basis of individual risk factors or combinations of factors. In particular, statistical models and risk calculators may be useful in predicting infectious risks, both in general and for SSIs. These models differ in the number of variables; inclusion of pre-operative, intra-operative, or post-operative variables; ease of calculation; and specificity for particular procedures. Furthermore, the models differ in their accuracy in stratifying risk. Biomarkers may be a promising way to identify patients at high risk of infectious complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Although multiple strategies exist for identifying surgical patients at high risk for SSIs, no one strategy is superior for all patients. Further efforts are necessary to determine if risk stratification in combination with risk modification can reduce SSIs in these patient populations.