Comparison of Patient Outcomes in 3725 Overlapping vs 3633 Nonoverlapping Neurosurgical Procedures Using a Single Institution's Clinical and Administrative Database.
Overlapping surgery is a common practice to improve surgical efficiency, but there are limited data on its safety.



To analyze the patient outcomes of overlapping vs nonoverlapping surgeries performed by multiple neurosurgeons.



Retrospective review of 7358 neurosurgical procedures, 2012 to 2015, at an urban academic hospital. Collected variables: patient age, gender, insurance, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, severity of illness, mortality risk, admission type, transfer source, procedure type, surgery date, number of cosurgeons, presence of neurosurgery resident/fellow/another attending, and overlapping vs nonoverlapping surgery. Outcomes: procedure time, length of stay, estimated blood loss, discharge location, 30-day mortality, 30-day readmission, return to operating room, acute respiratory failure, and severe sepsis. Statistics: univariate, then multivariate mixed-effect models.



Overlapping surgery patients (n = 3725) were younger and had lower American Society of Anesthesiologists scores, severity of illness, and mortality risk (P < .0001) than nonoverlapping surgery patients (n = 3633). Overlapping surgeries had longer procedure times (214 vs 172 min; P < .0001), but shorter length of stay (7.3 vs 7.9 d; P = .010) and lower estimated blood loss (312 vs 363 mL’s; P = .003). Overlapping surgery patients were more likely to be discharged home (73.6% vs 66.2%; P < .0001), and had lower mortality rates (1.3% vs 2.5%; P = .0005) and acute respiratory failure (1.8% vs 2.6%; P = .021). In multivariate models, there was no significant difference between overlapping and nonoverlapping surgeries for any patient outcomes, except for procedure duration, which was longer in overlapping surgery (estimate = 23.03; P < .001).



When planned appropriately, overlapping surgery can be performed safely within the infrastructure at our academic institution.
Department of Neurological Surgery , University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.|Center for Healthcare Value, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Corinna C
CC
Zygourakis
Department of Neurological Surgery , University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Malla
M
Keefe
Department of Quality, UCSF Health, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Janelle
J
Lee
Department of Quality, UCSF Health, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Julio
J
Barba
Department of Neurological Surgery , University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Michael W
MW
McDermott
Department of Neurological Surgery , University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Praveen V
PV
Mummaneni
Department of Neurological Surgery , University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Michael T
MT
Lawton
D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
Concurrent surgery; Overlapping surgery; Simultaneous surgery; Running 2 rooms; Patient safety; Patient outcomes