Abhinaba Chatterjee

Rates of Spinal Cord Infarction After Repair of Aortic Aneurysm or Dissection

Background and Purpose— The rate of spinal cord infarction (SCI) after surgical or endovascular repair of an aortic aneurysm or dissection is unclear. Methods— Using administrative claims data, we identified adult patients discharged from nonfederal acute care hospitals in California, New York, and Florida who underwent surgical or endovascular repair of an aortic aneurysm or dissection between 2005 and 2013. Patients with SCI diagnosed before the aortic repair were excluded. Our primary outcome was an SCI during the index hospitalization for aortic repair. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate crude rates of SCI. Analyses were stratified by whether the aneurysm or dissection had ruptured and by type of repair (surgical versus endovascular). Results— We identified 91u2009212 patients who had repair of an aortic aneurysm or dissection. SCI occurred in 235 cases (0.26%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22%–0.29%). In patients with ruptured aneurysm or dissection, the rate of SCI was 0.74% (95% CI, 0.60%–0.88%) compared with 0.16% (95% CI, 0.13%–0.19%) with unruptured aneurysm. In secondary analyses, rates of SCI were similar after endovascular repair (0.91%; 95% CI, 0.62%–1.19%) compared with surgical repair (0.68%; 95% CI, 0.53%–0.83%; P=0.147) of ruptured aortic aneurysm or dissection; however, rates of SCI were higher after surgical repair (0.20%; 95% CI, 0.15%–0.25%) versus endovascular repair (0.11%; 95% CI, 0.08%–0.14%; P<0.001) of unruptured aneurysm. Conclusions— SCI occurs in ≈1 in 130 patients undergoing aortic dissection or ruptured aortic aneurysm repair and in 1 in 600 patients undergoing unruptured aortic aneurysm repair.

Modeling the Impact of Interhospital Transfer Network Design on Stroke Outcomes in a Large City

Background and Purpose— We sought to model the effects of interhospital transfer network design on endovascular therapy eligibility and clinical outcomes of stroke because of large-vessel occlusion for the residents of a large city. Methods— We modeled 3 transfer network designs for New York City. In model A, patients were transferred from spoke hospitals to the closest hub hospitals with endovascular capabilities irrespective of hospital affiliation. In model B, which was considered the base case, patients were transferred to the closest affiliated hub hospitals. In model C, patients were transferred to the closest affiliated hospitals, and transfer times were adjusted to reflect full implementation of streamlined transfer protocols. Using Monte Carlo methods, we simulated the distributions of endovascular therapy eligibility and good functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score, 0–2) in these models. Results— In our models, 200 patients (interquartile range [IQR], 168–227) with a stroke amenable to endovascular therapy present to New York City spoke hospitals each year. Transferring patients to the closest hub hospital irrespective of affiliation (model A) resulted in 4 (IQR, 1–9) additional patients being eligible for endovascular therapy and an additional 1 (IQR, 0–2) patient achieving functional independence. Transferring patients only to affiliated hospitals while simulating full implementation of streamlined transfer protocols (model C) resulted in 17 (IQR, 3–41) additional patients being eligible for endovascular therapy and 3 (IQR, 1–8) additional patients achieving functional independence. Conclusions— Optimizing acute stroke transfer networks resulted in clinically small changes in population-level stroke outcomes in a dense, urban area.

Specialty Classifications of Physicians Who Provide Neurocritical Care in the United States.

BackgroundWe sought to characterize the specialty classification of US physicians who provide critical care for neurological/neurosurgical disease.MethodsUsing inpatient claims between 2009 and 2015 from a nationally representative 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries, we selected hospitalizations for neurological/neurosurgical diseases with potential to result in life-threatening manifestations requiring critical care. Using Current Procedural Terminology® codes, we determined the medical specialty of providers submitting critical care claims, and, using National Provider Identifier numbers, we merged in data from the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) to determine whether the provider was a UCNS diplomate in neurocritical care. We defined providers with a clinical neuroscience background as neurologists, neurosurgeons, and/or UCNS diplomates in neurocritical care. We defined neurocritical care service as a critical care claim with a qualifying neurological/neurosurgical diagnosis in patients with a relevant primary hospital discharge diagnosis and ≥u20093 total critical care claims, excluding claims from the first day of hospitalization since these were mostly emergency-department claims. Our findings were reported using descriptive statistics with exact confidence intervals (CI).ResultsAmong 1,952,305 Medicare beneficiaries, we identified 99,937 hospitalizations with at least one claim for neurocritical care. In our primary analysis, neurologists accounted for 28.0% (95% CI, 27.5–28.5%) of claims, neurosurgeons for 3.7% (95% CI, 3.5–3.9%), UCNS-certified neurointensivists for 25.8% (95% CI, 25.3–26.3%), and providers with any clinical neuroscience background for 42.8% (95% CI, 42.2–43.3%). The likelihood of management by physicians with a clinical neuroscience background increased proportionally with patients’ county-level socioeconomic status and such providers were 3 times more likely to be based at an academic medical center than other physicians who billed for critical care in our sample (odds ratio, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1–8.1).ConclusionsPhysicians with a dedicated clinical neuroscience background accounted for less than half of neurocritical care service in US Medicare beneficiaries.

The Risk of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in Acute Neurological Disease

Background Case series have reported reversible left ventricular dysfunction, also known as stress cardiomyopathy or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM), in the setting of acute neurological diseases such as subarachnoid hemorrhage. The relative associations between various neurological diseases and Takotsubo remain incompletely understood.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study of all adults in the National Inpatient Sample, a nationally representative sample of US hospitalizations, from 2006 to 2014. Our exposures of interest were primary diagnoses of acute neurological disease, defined by ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes. Our outcome was a diagnosis of TCM. Binary logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between our pre-specified neurological diagnoses and TCM after adjustment for demographics.ResultsAmong acute neurological diagnoses, the strongest associations were seen with subarachnoid hemorrhage (odds ratio [OR] 11.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.2–13.4), status epilepticus (OR 4.9; 95% CI 3.7–6.3), and seizures (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1–1.5). In a sensitivity analysis including secondary diagnoses of acute neurological diagnoses, associations were also seen with transient global amnesia (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.5–3.6), meningoencephalitis (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.7–2.5), migraine (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.5–1.8), intracerebral hemorrhage (OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1–1.5), and ischemic stroke (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.1–1.3). In addition, female sex was strongly associated with Takotsubo (OR 5.1; 95% CI 4.9–5.4).ConclusionTCM appears to be associated with varying degrees with several acute neurological diseases besides subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Trends in Tracheostomy After Stroke: Analysis of the 1994 to 2013 National Inpatient Sample

Background: Real-world data on long-term trends in the use of tracheostomy after stroke are limited. Methods: Patients who underwent tracheostomy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), or subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were identified from the 1994 through 2013 releases of the National Inpatient Sample using previously validated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. Survey weights were used to report nationally representative estimates. Our primary outcome was the trend in tracheostomy use during the index stroke hospitalization over the last 20 years. Additionally, we evaluated trends in in-hospital mortality, timing of placement, and discharge disposition among patients who received a tracheostomy. Results: We identified 9.9 million patients with AIS, ICH, or SAH in the United States from 1994 to 2013, of which 170 255 (1.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6%-1.8%) underwent tracheostomy. Among all patients with stroke, tracheostomy use increased from 1.2% (95% CI: 1.1%-1.4%) in 1994 to 1.9% (95% CI: 1.8%-2.1%) in 2013, with similar trends across stroke types. From 1994 to 2013, the timing of tracheostomy decreased from 16.5 days (95% CI: 14.9-18.1 days) to 10.3 days (95% CI: 9.9-10.8 days) after mechanical ventilation. In-hospital mortality decreased from 32.6% (95% CI: 29.1%-36.1%) to 13.8% (95% CI: 12.3%-15.3%) among tracheostomy patients; however, discharge to a nonacute care facility increased from 42.9% (95% CI: 38.0%-47.8%) to 83.3% (95% CI: 81.6%-85.0%) and home discharge declined from 9.3% (95% CI: 7.3%-11.3%) to 2.9% (95% CI: 2.1%-3.7%). Conclusion: Over the past 2 decades, tracheostomy use has increased among patients with stroke. This increase was associated with earlier placement, reduced in-hospital mortality, and lower rates of home discharge.

Misdiagnosis of Cerebral Vein Thrombosis in the Emergency Department

Background and Purpose— Rates of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) misdiagnosis in the emergency department and outcomes associated with misdiagnosis have been underexplored. Methods— Using administrative data, we identified adults with CVT at New York, California, and Florida hospitals from 2005 to 2013. Our primary outcome was probable misdiagnosis of CVT, defined as a treat-and-release emergency department visit for headache or seizure within 14 days before CVT. In addition, logistic regression was used to compare rates of clinical outcomes in patients with and without probable CVT misdiagnosis. We performed a confirmatory study at 2 tertiary care centers. Results— We identified 5966 patients with CVT in whom 216 (3.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1%–4.1%) had a probable misdiagnosis of CVT. After adjusting for demographics, risk factors for CVT, and the Elixhauser comorbidity index, probable CVT misdiagnosis was not associated with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.02–1.05), intracerebral hemorrhage (odds ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.57–1.65), or unfavorable discharge disposition (odds ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.61–1.32); a longer length of hospital stay was seen among misdiagnosed patients with CVT (odds ratio, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.04–2.50). In our confirmatory cohort, probable CVT misdiagnosis occurred in 8 of 134 patients with CVT (6.0%; 95% CI, 2.6%–11.4%). Conclusions— In a large, heterogeneous multistate cohort, probable misdiagnosis of CVT occurred in 1 of 30 patients but was not associated with the adverse clinical outcomes included in our study.

Risk Factors for Depression Among Civilians After the 9/11 World Trade Center Terrorist Attacks: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: The development of depressive symptoms among the population of civilians who were not directly involved in recovery or rescue efforts following the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attacks is not comprehensively understood. We performed a meta-analysis that examined the associations between multiple risk factors and depressive symptoms after the 9/11 WTC terrorist attacks in New York City among civilians including survivors, residents, and passersby. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library were searched from September, 2001 through July, 2016. Reviewers identified eligible studies and synthesized odds ratios (ORs) using a random-effects model. Results: The meta-analysis included findings from 7 studies (29,930 total subjects). After adjusting for multiple comparisons, depressive symptoms were significantly associated with minority race/ethnicity (OR, 1.40; 99.5% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.04 to 1.88), lower income level (OR, 1.25; 99.5% CI, 1.09 to 1.43), post-9/11 social isolation (OR, 1.68; 99.5% CI, 1.13 to 2.49), post-9/11 change in employment (OR, 2.06; 99.5% CI, 1.30 to 3.26), not being married post-9/11 (OR, 1.59; 99.5% CI, 1.18 to 2.15), and knowing someone injured or killed (OR, 2.02; 99.5% CI, 1.42 to 2.89). Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with greater age (OR, 0.86; 99.5% CI, 0.70 to 1.05), no college degree (OR, 1.32; 99.5% CI, 0.96 to 1.83), female sex (OR, 1.24; 99.5% CI, 0.98 to 1.59), or direct exposure to WTC related traumatic events (OR, 1.26; 99.5% CI, 0.69 to 2.30). Discussion: Findings from this study suggest that lack of post-disaster social capital was most strongly associated with depressive symptoms among the civilian population after the 9/11 WTC terrorist attacks, followed by bereavement and lower socioeconomic status. These risk factors should be identified among civilians in future disaster response efforts.

Risk of seizures and status epilepticus in older patients with liver disease

Seizures can be provoked by systemic diseases associated with metabolic derangements, but the association between liver disease and seizures remains unclear.