Authors :
Presenting Author: Jameson Moore, M.S.; – University of Minnesota
Brooke Patterson, MPH – Data Analyst, Center for Quality Outcomes and Evaluation, University of Minnesota; Jennifer Mckay, BS – MD Candidate, Medical School, University of Minnesota; Luke Sabal, MS – MD Candidate, Medical School, University of Minnesota; Schelomo Marmor, PhD, MPH – Associate Professor and Co Director, Center for Clinical Quality outcomes Discovery and Evaluation, University of Minnesota; Robert McGovern, MD – Primary Investigator and Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota
Rationale:
Surgical treatment is indicated for patients with medication refractory epilepsy, but prior literature has shown that access to surgery is not distributed equitably. In national datasets, patients who are black, have two or more comorbidities, or have non-private insurance are less likely to have surgery. Our study looked to explore these biases at a hospital system level in order to identify disparities within our own region.
Methods:
We utilized a M Health Fairview electronic health record database to examine patients with a primary admitting diagnosis of epilepsy from 2011 to 2022. Patients were stratified into surgical and nonsurgical outcomes. Demographic data was recorded and patients were divided into categories of sex, age, race, Area Deprivation index (ADI) , rural vs urban (Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) score), and number of comorbidities via Elixhauser score. A logistic regression was used to examine statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences.