Disparities in Sporadic Vestibular Schwannoma Initial Presentation Between a Public Safety Net Hospital and Tertiary Academic Medical Center at the Same Zip Code 2010 to 2020

Raffaello M Cutri; Joshua Lin; Melissa L Wilson; Joni K Doherty; Dorothy W Pan

doi:10.1177/00034894241241201

Disparities in Sporadic Vestibular Schwannoma Initial Presentation Between a Public Safety Net Hospital and Tertiary Academic Medical Center at the Same Zip Code 2010 to 2020

Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2024 Mar 22:34894241241201. doi: 10.1177/00034894241241201. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Raffaello M Cutri^{1

2}, Joshua Lin¹, Melissa L Wilson³, Joni K Doherty¹, Dorothy W Pan¹

Affiliations

¹ Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
² Cedars-Sinai Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
³ Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

PMID: 38517145
DOI: 10.1177/00034894241241201

Abstract

Introduction: Treatment of vestibular schwannoma (VS) has been extensively studied, but a gap in knowledge exists demonstrating how racial and socioeconomic status influence VS presentation. Our institution has a unique setting with a public safety net hospital (PSNH) and tertiary academic medical center (TAMC) in the same zip code, which we study to evaluate initial VS presentation disparities in patient populations presenting to these hospital settings.

Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed of all adult patients (n = 531) presenting 2010 to 2020 for initial VS evaluation at TAMC (n = 462) and PSNH (n = 69). Ethnicity, insurance, maximum tumor size, audiometry, initial treatment recommendation, treatment received, and follow up were recorded and statistical analysis performed to determine differences.

Results: Average age at diagnosis (51.7 ± 13.6 TAMC vs 52.3 ± 12.4 PSNH) and gender (58.4% TAMC vs 52.2% PSNH female) were similar. Patients' insurance (TAMC 75.9% privately insured vs PSNH 82% Medicaid) and racial/ethnic profiles (TAMC 67.7% White and 10.0% Hispanic/Latinx, vs PSNH 4.8% White but 59.7% Hispanic/Latinx) were significantly different. Tumor size was larger at PSNH (20.2 ± 13.3 mm) than TAMC (16.6 ± 10.0 mm). Hearing was more impaired at PSNH than TAMC (mean pure tone average 58.3 dB vs 43.9 dB, word recognition scores 52.3% vs 68.2%, respectively). Initial treatment recommendations and treatment received may include more than 1 modality. TAMC patients were offered 66.7% surgery, 31.2% observation, and 5.2% radiation, while PSNH patients offered 50.7% observation, 49.3% surgery, and 8.7% radiation. TAMC patients received 62.9% surgery, 32.5% observation, and 5.3% radiation, while PSNH patients received 36.2% surgery, 59.4% observation, and 14.5% radiation. Follow up and treatment at the same facility was not significantly different between hospitals.

Conclusions: Hearing was worse and tumor size larger in patients presenting to PSNH. Despite worse hearing status and larger tumor size, the majority of PSNH patients were initially offered observation, compared to TAMC where most patients were initially offered surgery.

Keywords: socioeconomic disparities; vestibular schwannoma.