The influence of race on outcomes following pituitary tumor resection

To assess the influence of race on short-term patient outcomes in a pituitary tumor surgery population.

Coarsened exact matching was used to retrospectively analyze consecutive patients (n = 567) undergoing pituitary tumor resection over a six-year period (June 07, 2013 to April 29, 2019) at a single, multi-hospital academic medical center. Black/African American and white patients were exact matched based on twenty-nine (29) patient, procedure, and hospital characteristics. Matching characteristics included surgical costs, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade, duration of surgery, and Charlson Comorbidity Index, amongst others. Outcomes studied included unplanned 90-day readmission, emergency room (ER) evaluation, and unplanned reoperation.

Ninety-two (n = 92) patients were exact matched and analyzed. There was no significant difference in 90-day readmission (p = 0.267, OR (black/AA vs white) = 0.500, 95% CI = 0.131-1.653) or ER evaluation within 90 days (p = 0.092, OR = 3.000, 95% CI = 0.848-13.737) between the two cohorts. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the rate of unplanned reoperation throughout the duration of the follow up period between matched black/African American and white patients (p = 0.607, OR = 0.750, 95% CI = 0.243-2.211).

This study suggests that the effect of race on post-operative outcomes is largely mitigated when equal access is attained, and when race is effectively isolated from socioeconomic factors and comorbidities in a population undergoing pituitary tumor resection.