<b><i>Background:</i></b> The declining prevalence of smoking and hypertension has been associated with the decrease of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) incidence in the 21st century. Since these same risk factors are linked to SAH mortality, the case fatality rate (CFR) of SAH has potentially also decreased during recent decades. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to address SAH CFR changes over the last 40 years. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We performed a systematic literature search in OVID Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases. We focused on population-based studies published between 1980 and 2020 that had included both hospitalized and nonhospitalized SAH cases, and reported 1-month CFRs for at least two individual study periods for the same population. Finally, we used a linear regression analysis to estimate the annual CFR changes in each identified population and pooled the regional changes for larger geographical and sex-specific analyses. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of the 4,562 initial publications, we included 22 studies (three of which reached a high-quality classification) consisting of 17,593 SAH patients from 16 different populations and 10 countries. Between 1980 and 2020, SAH CFR declined in all but two populations by an average of −1.5%/year. In the continent-based pooled geographical analyses, CFR decline was the most noticeable in North America (−2.4%/year) and Oceania (−2.2%/year). The decline was more moderate in Northern Europe (−0.8%/year) and Southern Europe (−0.7%/year). Overall, CFRs declined both in women (−1.9%/year) and in men (−1.2%/year). When comparing the first and second half of the study period, CFRs declined from 41% to 31%. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Short-term SAH CFRs seem to have declined since 1980. Time trends of SAH CFRs can still be identified for only a few populations, and high-quality data are scarce. Whether the observed decline relates to changes in risk factors, treatment outcomes or diagnostics remains to be studied.
Purpose
To assess the impact of individual surgeon experience on overall survival (OS), extent of resection (EOR) and surgery-related morbidity in elderly patients with glioblastoma (GBM), we performed a retrospective case-by-case analysis.
Methods
GBM patients aged ≥ 65 years who underwent tumor resection at two academic centers were analyzed. The experience of each neurosurgeon was quantified in three ways: (1) total number of previously performed glioma surgeries (lifetime experience); (2) number of surgeries performed in the previous five years (medium-term experience) and (3) in the last two years (short-term experience). Surgeon experience data was correlated with survival (OS) and surrogate parameters for surgical quality (EOR, morbidity).
Results
198 GBM patients (median age 73.0 years, median preoperative KPS 80, IDH-wildtype status 96.5%) were included. Median OS was 10.0 months (95% CI 8.0–12.0); median EOR was 89.4%. Surgery-related morbidity affected 19.7% patients. No correlations of lifetime surgeon experience with OS (P = .693), EOR (P = .693), and surgery-related morbidity (P = .435) were identified. Adjuvant therapy was associated with improved OS (P < .001); patients with surgery-related morbidity were less likely to receive adjuvant treatment (P = .002). In multivariable testing, adjuvant therapy (P < .001; HR = 0.064, 95%CI 0.028–0.144) remained the only significant predictor for improved OS.
Conclusion
Less experienced neurosurgeons achieve similar surgical results and outcome in elderly GBM patients within the setting of academic teaching hospitals. Adjuvant treatment and avoidance of surgery-related morbidity are crucial for generating a treatment benefit for this cohort.
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