Browsing by Author "Williamson, Theresa L"

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    ItemOpen Access
    Comparison of intraoperative and postoperative outcomes between open, wiltse, and percutaneous approach to traumatic thoracolumbar spine fractures without neurological injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
    (North American Spine Society journal, 2024-12) Al-Naseem, Abdulrahman O; Mehkri, Yusuf; Chakravarti, Sachiv; Johnson, Eli; Kelly-Hedrick, Margot; Kuo, Cathleen; Erickson, Melissa; Than, Khoi D; Rocos, Brett; Bhowmick, Deb; Shaffrey, Christopher I; Foster, Norah; Baaj, Ali; Dahdaleh, Nader; Goodwin, C Rory; Williamson, Theresa L; Lu, Yi; Abd-El-Barr, Muhammad M

    Background

    Traumatic thoracolumbar fracture fixation without neurological injury can be performed using the traditional open, mini-open Wiltse, and percutaneous approaches. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to compare perioperative outcomes between these approaches.

    Methods

    PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for all relevant observational comparative studies.

    Results

    5 randomized trials and 22 comparative cohort studies were included. Compared to the traditional open approach (n=959), the Wiltse approach (n=410) was associated with significantly lower operative time, intraoperative estimated blood loss (EBL), and length of stay (LOS). There was no significant difference between the two in terms of postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) and Cobb angle. Compared to the percutaneous approach (n=980), the Wiltse approach was associated with shorter operative and fluoroscopy time, as well as significantly improved Cobb and vertebral body angles. The percutaneous approach was associated with improved vertebral body height. There was no significant difference between the two for blood loss, postoperative VAS, or LOS. Compared to the traditional open approach, the percutaneous approach was associated with shorter operative time, lower EBL, shorter LOS and better postoperative VAS and Oswestry Disability Index. There was no difference between the two in postoperative Cobb angle, vertebral angle, or vertebral body height. Overall study heterogeneity was high.

    Conclusions

    Utilization of minimally invasive surgical approaches holds great promise for lowering patient morbidity and optimizing care. A prospective trial is needed to assess outcomes and guide surgical decision making.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Palliative Care Consultations in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Who Receives Palliative Care Consultations and What Does that Mean for Utilization?
    (Neurocritical care, 2022-06) Williamson, Theresa L; Adil, Syed M; Shalita, Chidyaonga; Charalambous, Lefko T; Mitchell, Taylor; Yang, Zidanyue; Parente, Beth A; Lee, Hui-Jie; Ubel, Peter A; Lemmon, Monica E; Galanos, Anthony N; Lad, Shivanand P; Komisarow, Jordan M

    Background

    Palliative care has the potential to improve goal-concordant care in severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). Our primary objective was to illuminate the demographic profiles of patients with sTBI who receive palliative care encounters (PCEs), with an emphasis on the role of race. Secondary objectives were to analyze PCE usage over time and compare health care resource utilization between patients with or without PCEs.

    Methods

    The National Inpatient Sample database was queried for patients age  ≥  18 who had a diagnosis of sTBI, defined by using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision codes. PCEs were defined by using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision code V66.7 and trended from 2001 to 2015. To assess factors associated with PCE in patients with sTBI, we performed unweighted generalized estimating equations regression. PCE association with decision making was modeled via its effect on rate of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement. To quantify differences in PCE-related decisions by race, race was modeled as an effect modifier.

    Results

    From 2001 to 2015, the proportion of palliative care usage in patients with sTBI increased from 1.5 to 36.3%, with 41.6% White, 22.3% Black, and 25% Hispanic patients with sTBI having a palliative care consultation in 2015, respectively. From 2008 to 2015, we identified 17,673 sTBI admissions. White and affluent patients were more likely to have a PCE than Black, Hispanic, and low socioeconomic status patients. Across all races, patients receiving a PCE resulted in a lower rate of PEG tube placement; however, White patients exhibited a larger reduction of PEG tube placement than Black patients. Patients using palliative care had lower total hospital costs (median $16,368 vs. $26,442, respectively).

    Conclusions

    Palliative care usage for sTBI has increased dramatically this century and it reduces resource utilization. This is true across races, however, its usage rate and associated effect on decision making are race-dependent, with White patients receiving more PCE and being more likely to decline the use of a PEG tube if they have had a PCE.