The effect of weight in the outcomes of meningioma patients.

BACKGROUND

Meningiomas are more prevalent in women and mostly benign in nature. Our aim was to evaluate the association of weight and outcomes of meningioma patients undergoing craniotomy.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of meningioma patients discharged postcraniotomy between 1998 and 2007 was conducted. Univariate and multivariate analysis evaluated in-hospital mortality, complications, length of stay (LOS), and cost.

RESULTS

According to the nationwide inpatient sample (NIS) database, an estimated 72,257 adult meningioma patients underwent a craniotomy in US hospitals during the study period. Female and male weight loss rates were 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively; obesity rates were 5.2% and 3.7%. Males had higher rates of malignant tumors than females (6.2% vs. 3.5%, P < 0.0001), and malignant tumors were more common in patients with weight loss (6.4% vs. 4.3%, P = 0.03). Weight loss was associated with higher mortality in men (OR 6.66, P < 0.0001) and women (OR 3.92, P = 0.04) as well as higher rates of postoperative complications in both men (OR 6.13, P < 0.0001) and women (OR 8.37, P < 0.0001). Furthermore, patients suffering weight loss had longer LOS and higher overall hospital cost when compared with all patients. In contrast, obesity seemed to reduce mortality (OR 0.47, P = 0.0006) and complications (OR 0.8, P = 0.0007) among women.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, weight loss seems to be the single most critical factor present in patients experiencing higher mortality, complications, hospital charges, and longer LOS. However, further studies aimed to assess the inter-relation of potential preexisting comorbidities and weight loss are needed to establish causation.