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Objective: Socioeconomic status (SES) is known to affect presentations and outcomes in pituitary neuroendocrine tumor resections, but there is a paucity of literature examining its impact specifically on patients with prolactinomas, who may be treated medically or surgically. The authors sought to determine whether SES was associated with differences in treatment choice or outcomes for prolactinoma patients., Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed patient records at a high-volume academic pituitary center for prolactinoma diagnoses. Patients were split into medically and surgically treated cohorts. Race, ethnicity, insurance status, primary care physician (PCP) status, and zip code-based income data were collected and examined as socioeconomic covariates. Outcomes of interest included pretreatment likelihood of surgical cure, medical versus surgical treatment allocation, and posttreatment remission rates., Results: The authors analyzed 568 prolactinoma patients (351 medically treated and 217 surgically treated). Patients receiving surgery were more likely to have Medicaid or private insurance (p < 0.001) and have lower incomes (p < 0.001) than medically treated patients. Lower-income surgical patients were more likely to require surgical intervention for an indication such as tumor decompression than higher-income patients (p = 0.023). Surgical patients with a PCP had a higher estimated likelihood of surgical cure (p = 0.008), while no SES-based differences in surgical remission likelihood existed in the medical cohort. After surgery, surgical patients who achieved remission had significantly higher income than those who did not (p < 0.001). Other SES factors were not associated with surgical remission, and among medically treated patients, remission rates were not affected by any SES factor. Income was inversely related to prolactinoma size in both cohorts (surgical, p < 0.001; medical, p = 0.005) but was associated more prominently in surgical patients (surgical, -0.65 mm per $10,000; medical, -0.37 mm per $10,000)., Conclusions: While surgical prolactinoma patients were prone to income and PCP-related disparities, no SES disparities were found among medically treated patients. Income had a more pronounced association with tumor size in the surgical cohort and likely contributed to the increased need for surgical intervention seen in low-income surgical patients. Addressing socioeconomic healthcare disparities is needed among surgical prolactinoma patients to increase rates of early presentation and improve the outcomes of low-SES populations.

Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic brings new challenges to otolaryngology resident education. Surgical volume and clinic visits are curtailed, personal protective equipment for operating room participation is restricted, and the risk of COVID-19 disease transmission during heretofore routine patient care is the new norm., Methods: We describe a small-team "cohorting" protocol including guidelines for faculty and resident in common clinical scenarios with attention paid to the risk of common otolaryngologic procedures., Results: A rotating small-team approach was implemented at each clinical site, limiting interaction between department members but providing comprehensive coverage. Faculty were involved at the earliest phase of clinical interactions. Guidelines delineated faculty and resident roles based on risk stratification by patient COVID status and anticipated procedures. Special consideration was given to high-risk procedures such as endoscopy and tracheotomy., Conclusions: A small-team-based approach with guidelines for faculty/resident roles may mitigate risk while optimizing patient care and maximizing education., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives/hypothesis: To characterize trends in the management of sinonasal malignancy with a focus on the impact of hospital volume on surgical outcomes., Study Design: Retrospective cohort study., Methods: Time trends were analyzed among patients admitted for surgical resection of sinonasal malignancy in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) between 1988 and 2009. Subset analysis was performed on cohorts with skull base or orbital involvement or on cohorts who underwent neck dissection. Patient characteristics and hospital attributes were correlated with morbidity and mortality., Results: Over 22 years, we identified 3,850 cases from 879 hospitals. A total of 24.3% of patients had complications and 0.8% of hospitalizations resulted in mortality. Cases with skull base or orbital involvement, or cases including neck dissection, had more complications and a longer length of stay. Prevalence of neck dissection increased over time. Thirty-two hospitals averaged more than five cases per year, accounting for 28% of all surgeries. These centers were large (73.3%), urban (96.7%), teaching (90%) institutions and performed more high-risk cases: 32.4% of neck dissections, 44.6% of orbital cases, and 43.1% of skull base cases. Compared to lower-volume centers, these centers had more cardiopulmonary and electrolyte complications, but no difference was observed in the lengths of stay. A greater proportion of cases were recently performed at high-volume centers., Conclusion: Over time, complicated surgeries were more likely to occur at higher-volume hospitals without significant changes in surgical complication rates. High-volume centers had increased rates of cardiopulmonary and electrolyte complications, likely representing complex postoperative management, but these were not associated with higher mortality., Level of Evidence: 2c., (© 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)