Survival after reoperation for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme: A prospective study

PurposeGlioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor. Moreover, GBM recurs in nearly all patients. Although a standard STUPP protocol has been widely used for newly diagnosed GBM, no standard regimen has been established for recurrent patients. Here we evaluated the clinical value of recurrent GBM reoperation by comparing overall survival and quality of life (QoL) in patients with recurrent GBM undergoing repeat surgery or conservative treatment.MethodsThis was a prospective study of 165 patients with GBM receiving first operations for their disease between 2011 and 2013 at two tertiary neurosurgery centers in Poland. Thirty-five eligible patients were re-operated for recurrence (the study group), and 35 patients were selected as the control group using propensity score matching. A model was created to determine advantageous prognostic factors for longer survival of patients qualifying for reoperation using stepwise linear regression.ResultsThe mean overall survival of patients undergoing repeat surgery was 528 days compared to 297 days in patients who did not undergo repeat surgery. Reoperation did not result in a significant deterioration in performance status as measured by the Karnofsky Performance Scale. Older age, the presence of symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, and a shorter period between initial operation and reoperation were independent predictors of a worse outcome.ConclusionIn selected patients, reoperation for recurrent GBM prolongs survival with no significant deteriorations in performance status.     

The role of payment and financing in achieving health equity

Objective

The aim was to identify healthcare payment and financing reforms to promote health equity and ways that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) may promote those reforms.

Data Sources and Study Setting

AHRQ convened a payment and financing workgroup–the authors of this paper–as part of its Health Equity Summit held in July 2022. This workgroup drew from its collective experience with healthcare payment and financing reform, as well as feedback from participants in a session at the Health Equity Summit, to identify the evidence base and promising paths for reforms to promote health equity.

Study Design

The payment and financing workgroup developed an outline of reforms to promote health equity, presented the outline to participants in the payment and financing session of the July 2022 AHRQ Health Equity Summit, and integrated feedback from the participants.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

This paper did not require novel data collection; the authors collected the data from the existing evidence base.

Principal Findings

The paper outlines root causes of health inequity and corresponding potential reforms in five domains: (1) the differential distribution of resources between healthcare providers serving different communities, (2) scarcity of financing for populations most in need, (3) lack of integration/accountability, (4) patient cost barriers to care, and (5) bias in provider behavior and diagnostic tools.

Conclusions

Additional research is necessary to determine whether the proposed reforms are effective in promoting health equity.     

Effects of the Cerebral Aneurysm Treatment Method on Coil Packing Density and Its Relationship with the Ostium Area

PurposeTo test the following hypotheses: (a) balloon or stent assistance increases coil packing density (CPD) in the endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms, and (b) CPD correlates to ostium area (OA) and aneurysm volume (AV).Materials and MethodsThis retrospective study included 60 aneurysms (54 ruptured and 6 unruptured) treated with simple coiling (SC) (n = 18), balloon-assisted coiling (BAC) (n = 7), or stent-assisted coiling (SAC) (n = 35) at the authors’ institution between August 2017 and December 2019. AV and OA measurements were obtained from 3-dimensional digital subtraction angiography images using commercial software. Coil sizes were retrieved from patient files, and coil volume (CV) measurements were obtained from https://www.angiocalc.com/. Analysis of covariance, multivariate covariance analysis, and Pearson correlation analyses were performed.ResultsThe median value for AV, CV, CPD, and OA was 63.4 mm³ (range, 5.5–1,771.4 mm³), 23.13 mm³ (range, 2.03–296.95 mm³), 33.29% (range, 13.41%–81.02%), and 10.7 mm² (range, 2.7–49.9 mm²), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the CPD values were not significantly different among the treatment groups, although OA significantly differed between the SC and SAC groups (P < .05). Pearson correlations showed that similar to AV, OA was negatively correlated with CPD (r = ?0.321, P < .05).ConclusionsThe CPD value in cerebral aneurysms treated with BAC or SAC did not differ from that in aneurysms treated with SC.