Azad, Tej Deepak

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Social determinants of health (SDOH), such as education, insurance, race, and income, significantly affect a patient's medical care and surgical outcomes. Additional studies characterizing the impact of SDOH on patients undergoing spine surgery are needed. Accordingly, this study evaluates the impact of SDOH on severity of symptoms at presentation and discharge disposition in patients undergoing surgical treatment of cervical myelopathy. METHODS: A retrospective single-center study identified adult patients undergoing surgical intervention for cervical myelopathy between 2016 and 2020. Cohort characteristics were collected from patient medical records. The t -test, Wilcoxon rank-sum, analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis, and χ 2 tests were used to compare variables when appropriate. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted for modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) and discharge disposition. All statistical analysis was performed in MATLAB R2022b (MathWorks, Natick, MA). RESULTS: A total of 480 patients were included in the study with a male predominance of n = 281 (59%) and a mean age of 62 ± 13 years. Racial demographics included 64% White (n = 308) and 36% Non-White (n = 172) patients. On univariable analysis, mJOA at presentation was significantly associated with employment status ( P < .01), annual income ( P < .01), education level ( P < .01), and insurance status ( P = .03). On multivariable analysis, annual income and education level continued to be significant predictors of presenting mJOA. On univariable analysis, discharge disposition was associated with body mass index ( P = .01), mJOA at presentation ( P < .01), employment status ( P = .05), annual income ( P < .01), education level ( P < .01), insurance ( P < .01), approach ( P < .01), and length of stay ( P < .01). On multivariable analysis, mJOA at presentation, education level, insurance, and approach continued to be significant predictors of discharge disposition. CONCLUSION: SDOH affect the severity of symptoms at presentation and discharge disposition in patients undergoing surgery for cervical myelopathy. Understanding these dynamics and uncovering additional SDOH are critical for enhancing surgical care and achieving equitable healthcare outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Management of sporadic schwannomas is often dictated by a patient's clinical presentation and the tumor's behavior. For patients who are managed nonsurgically, there are little data available about the expected natural history. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the natural history and growth patterns of extracranial schwannomas including tumors of the distal peripheral nerves, spine, and brachial plexus. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed to identify patients with nonsyndromic extracranial schwannomas at a single tertiary care institution diagnosed between 2002 and 2019. Patient data and tumor characteristics including volume were recorded. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-seven patients were identified (mean age 51 years, 42% male, average of 27.8-month follow-up). Tumor location was distal peripheral nerve in 82, brachial plexus in 36, and paraspinal in 109. At the time of diagnosis, peripheral lesions were significantly larger than spinal (59 m 3 vs 13 cm 3 ) and brachial plexus lesions (15 cm 3 ). Distinct growth patterns were seen with both distal peripheral nerve and spinal lesions; 34/82 peripheral nerve lesions had fast growth (β = 0.176%/day), and 48 had slow growth (β = 0.021%/day; P < .01). Spinal schwannomas similarly had 30 fast-growing (β = 0.229%/day), 16 moderate-growing (β = 0.071%/day), and 63 slow-growing (β = 0.022%/day; P = .03) subtypes. The brachial plexus had relatively homogeneous growth patterns (β = 0.065%/day). Females had 2.9 times greater odds of having the fast-growing subtype. CONCLUSION: Distinct growth patterns were seen in extracranial sporadic schwannomas based on tumor location and patient demographics. Fast (>80% volume change per year) vs slow (5%-10% per year) tumor growth can often be ascertained within 2 follow-up images. Awareness of these patterns might have implications for patient counseling and therapeutic decision-making.