Recovery in glioblastoma multiforme during inpatient rehabilitation is equivalent in first versus repeat resection: A 10-year retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND

Inpatient rehabilitation improves function in people with brain tumors, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) but there are limited data on the impact of multiple resections on outcomes. We hypothesize that outcomes will be more favorable for those patients with a single resection when compared to those with more than one resection.

OBJECTIVE

To examine functional outcomes in inpatient rehabilitation for people with GBM who underwent one or more resections prior to admission.

DESIGN

Retrospective analysis.

SETTING

Inpatient rehabilitation unit within a large, urban, academic medical center.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients who were admitted to our institution for the treatment of initial GBM or GBM recurrence necessitating surgical resection or repeat resection.

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Total FIM Change, Total Functional Independence Measure (FIM) Efficiency, Motor and Cognitive FIM efficiency, and proportion discharged home.

RESULTS

From 2006 to 2016, 94 persons with GBM were admitted. Eight were readmissions classified as "repeat" and another seven transferred to the medical floor and excluded. Of the 79 patients included, 56 were first and 23 second resections, with a group mean age of 62.7 + 12.2 years and were 51% male. On analysis of covariance, change in FIM score from admission to discharge was insignificant between groups, adjusted for age and acute care length of stay (17.1 vs. 17.4, F[1, 75] = 0.027, P = .871). Likewise, the proportion of home discharge was not significant between groups (chi-square, 75.0% vs. 78.3%, P = .758).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who have undergone second resections for GBM are reasonable candidates for admission to the inpatient rehabilitation units despite carrying a poor prognosis and having multiple exposures to surgical morbidity. Factors to take into account are that candidates considered for a second resection may be relatively younger or healthier and therefore may perform better from a functional standpoint. In addition, postoperative steroid administration may play a role in the similarities the authors noted. A larger, multicenter study should validate our findings (limited by sample size and a single location) and identify factors predicting a successful outcome.