2025 Proffered Presentations
S032: SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH READMISSION AFTER PITUITARY ADENOMA RESECTION
Anne R Lally, BA; Sayak R Ghosh, BA; Isabella L Pecorari, BS; Vijay Agarwal, MD; Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Introduction: Unplanned readmissions to the hospital after neurosurgical procedures are burdensome to patients, clinicians, and hospital systems. Research has continued to show that race and socioeconomic status influence health outcomes. Understanding how race, socioeconomic status, and medical comorbidities influence recovery after pituitary surgery is crucial for improving the quality of care. The aim of this study is to identify significant factors that impact the likelihood of emergency room readmission 90 days after pituitary tumor resection.
Methods: At a single institution, a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent resection of pituitary adenomas between 2018–2023 was conducted. Information on patient demographics, medical comorbidities, perioperative complications, and readmission was analyzed. Social vulnerability index (SVI) scores were recorded for each patient from the Centers for Disease Control Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. To test for significance of p < 0.05, Mann Whitney U tests were performed for continuous variables and Fisher’s exact tests were run for categorical variables.
Results: Out of the 154 patients included in this study, the average age was 54.7±15.6 years. Seventy-seven patients (50.3%) were male. Most patients identified as black (n = 79, 51.6%). On average, each patient had 1.63±0.275 medical comorbidities. The average SVI was 0.81±0.23, which classifies the majority of patients as socially vulnerable. Readmission from the emergency room within 90 days of pituitary surgery occurred in 23 (14.9%) patients. Reasons for readmission include: hyponatremia (n=5; 21.7%), adrenal insufficiency (n=3; 13.0%), altered mental status (n=3; 13%), deep vein thrombosis (n=2; 8.7%), pulmonary embolism (n=1; 4.35%), anasarca (n=1; 4.35%), epistaxis (n=1; 4.35%), CSF leak (n=1; 4.35%), influenza (n=1), meningitis (n=1), hypernatremia (n=1), subdural empyema (n=1), generalized weakness (n=1), and eye pain (n=1). There was no statistically significant relationship between age (p=0.423), sex (p>0.999), white race (p=0.192), BMI (p=0.641), SVI (p>0.999), or number of medical comorbidities (p=0.150) and readmission. Black race was significantly related to readmission (p=0.024).
Conclusions: This study suggests that black race is associated with higher likelihood of readmission 90 days after resection of a pituitary adenoma. In addition, it suggests that age, sex, BMI, and number of medical comorbidities are not significantly related to readmission. Further research needs to be conducted to understand the risk factors that cause higher readmission rates for black patients.