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Objective The objective of this study was to determine the impact of patient demographics and socioeconomic factors on the utilization of tertiary rhinology care services in an upper Midwestern academic medical center. Study Design Retrospective review of electronic health records. Setting Academic medical center. Methods The electronic health record of our academic center was interrogated for the demographics and diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) among adult patients seen by fellowship-trained rhinologists from 2000 to 2019. Patient characteristics (age, sex, race, insurance status) and population-level data (median income and education level) were compared with utilization of tertiary rhinology services for CRS. Utilization rates were calculated for each regional zip code and correlated with census data for median income and education. The association between determinants of health and tertiary rhinology utilization was assessed by multivariate regression analyses. Results A total of 8325 patients diagnosed with CRS used tertiary rhinology services. Patients were older (median, 58.9 years) and more likely to be female (57.6%), White (85%), and privately insured (60%) when compared with patients seen across our hospital system ( P < .001). Adjusted analyses showed median income, education level, and White race to be independently correlated with tertiary care utilization. Private insurance alone was not an independent contributing factor to access. Conclusion Utilization of tertiary rhinology services correlated with income, race, and education level. Private insurance was not an independent factor. These results highlight social differences in determinants of access to tertiary otolaryngologic care.

Objective: To evaluate the association between patient socioeconomic and demographic factors and tertiary care utilization for dysphonia in a localized metropolitan area of the American Midwest.Methods: Multivariate regression analysis was used to correlate patient demographics and population level data (e.g., age, gender, race, insurance, median income, education level) with tertiary laryngology utilization for dysphonia care at our institution between 2000 and 2019. Initial analyses characterized tertiary laryngology utilization rates for all regional ZIP codes and correlated these data with census information for household income and education. Dysphonia patient demographics were compared among populations cared for in our entire academic Otolaryngology department, our health system, and the regional population.Results: Among 1,365,021 patients in our health system, there were 7066 tertiary laryngology visits with a diagnosis of dysphonia. Dysphonia patients as compared to the overall health system were older (62.0 vs. 50.8 years), more likely to be female (63.7 vs. 50.2%) and more likely to have insurance (98.4 vs. 87.5%, all p < .001).Patient and population-level factors including insurance status, education, and black race showed positive correlation with laryngology utilization while median income did not. Conclusions and Relevance:Insurance status, education level, and race correlated with utilization of tertiary laryngology services for the evaluation of dysphonia in our community, while median income did not. Black patients utilized tertiary laryngology care at higher rates compared to departmental and regional population utilization data. These results underscore important demographic and disease-specific factors that may affect utilization of subspecialty care in Otolaryngology.

Objective: To identify variability in reported hearing outcomes for intratympanic (IT) steroid treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) by comparing outcomes using the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) guideline with other published criteria. Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Tertiary otology practice. Patients: Patients with ISSNHL treated with IT steroid between April 2003 and December 2020. Interventions: IT steroid injection and audiometric evaluation. Main Outcome Measures: 1) Rates of full, partial, or no recovery using the AAO-HNS guideline versus other reported criteria, and 2) correlation analyses of demographic and clinical variables with response to IT steroid. Results: Using AAO-HNS reporting criteria, full recovery of the pure-tone average was noted in 25.68% of patients. Applying eight other published outcomes criteria to this patient cohort classified full recovery in 14.87 to 40.54% of patients. Similarly, AAO-HNS criteria classified "no recovery" in 51.35% of our patients, whereas applying the other reported criteria showed an average rate of 62.16% no recovery and as high as 82.43% of patients without recovery. Younger age ( p = 0.003; effect size, 0.924) and IT injection within a week of onset ( p < 0.001; effect size, 1.099) positively correlated with full recovery. There was no impact of prior or concurrent oral steroids, or number of steroid injections on outcome. Conclusion: Great variability exists in the literature for assessment of IT steroid outcomes in ISSNHL. Standard reporting of outcomes as per the AAO-HNS SSNHL guideline is recommended to consistently characterize IT steroid efficacy and allow comparison across studies.

Objective: To determine the impact of patient demographics and social determinants of health on treatment pathways for unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) at a tertiary laryngology clinic.Study design: Retrospective medical record review.Methods: Patient demographics (age, gender, race, ethnicity, and insurance status) were extracted for adults diagnosed with UVFP between 2009 and 2019. Odds ratios for the associations between sociodemographic factors and UVFP treatment pathways were determined by chi-square analyses.Results: A total of 1490 UVFP diagnoses were identified during the study period with the majority being female (58%), White (85%), non-Hispanic (97%), and publicly insured (54%). Five treatment pathways were identified: observation, injection laryngoplasty, voice therapy, laryngeal framework surgery/thyroplasty, and reinnervation surgery. There were 538 patients who underwent observation, 512 injection laryngoplasty, 366 voice therapy, 136 thyroplasty, and 26 laryngeal reinnervation surgery.Males were more likely to undergo injection laryngoplasty than females (OR 1.32; CI 1.08-1.61), whereas females were more likely to undergo voice therapy (OR 1.39; CI 1.09-1.76). Patients with public insurance (OR 1.48; CI 1.03-2.14) and Hispanics (OR 2.60; CI 1.18-5.72) were more likely to undergo thyroplasty. Patients who underwent reinnervation surgery were younger than those in other treatment pathways (median: 39.1 years vs. 50.7-56.1 years).Conclusions: Gender, ethnicity, and insurance status were significantly associated with specific UVFP treatment pathways. Patients with public insurance were more likely to undergo surgical intervention than voice therapy. This data overall supports differences in care pathway utilization for UVFP based on social determinants of health.

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Objective: To identify demographic and clinical features impacting initial treatment pathway for vestibular schwannoma. Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Tertiary care academic medical center. Patients: Patients diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma between 2009 and 2019. Interventions: Observation, stereotactic radiosurgery, or microsurgical resection. Main Outcome Measures: χ 2 Test, one-way analysis of variance, and multivariate logistic regression were used to correlate demographic and clinical factors with initial treatment pathway for 197 newly diagnosed vestibular schwannoma patients. Results: Among 197 patients, 93 (47%) were initially treated with observation, 60 (30%) with stereotactic radiation (Gamma Knife) and 44 (22%) with surgical resection. Age univariately had no statistically significant impact on initial pathway, but those undergoing surgery trended toward a younger demographic (49.1 yr [surgery] versus 57.2 yr [observation] versus 59.0 yr [Gamma Knife]).Men were more likely to be initially observed than women ( p = 0.04). Patients initially observed were more likely to have a lower Koos classification ( p < 0.001) and have better tumor-ear hearing ( p = 0.03). Only 34.4% of patients living outside the local geographic region were initially observed compared with 53.0% living locally ( p = 0.055). Surgeon correlated with initial treatment ( p = 0.04) but did not maintain significance when adjusting for hearing level or tumor size. A multiple linear regression model found age, maximum tumor diameter, and Koos class to correlate with initial treatment pathway ( p < 0.0001, r 2 = 0.42). Conclusion: Initial treatment pathway for newly diagnosed vestibular schwannoma is impacted by demographic factors such as age, sex, and geographic proximity to the medical center. Clinical features including hearing level and tumor size also correlated with initial treatment modality.

ObjectiveTo clarify whether the reported lack of racial and ethnic diversity among Menière's disease (MD) patients is representative of selection bias or disease susceptibility.Study DesignRetrospective medical record review and population-level analyses.SettingTertiary referral center.PatientsCohort of 1091 patients diagnosed with MD by the tertiary otology service.Main Outcome MeasureDemographic and population-level characteristics (age, sex, race, insurance status, ZIP code, median income, education level) compared with local, regional, health system, and otolaryngology clinic demographics.ResultsPatients seen for MD were significantly older than those seen throughout the otolaryngology clinic (median, 65.0 versus 58.8 yr) or health system (65.0 versus 50.8 yr). A majority of patients with MD were of White race (92%), compared with 2.7% Black race and 0.5% Asian. Using population-level data, median income and having medical insurance were significantly correlated with care for MD. A disproportionate rate of care for MD was seen in ZIP codes outside urban areas as compared with other otologic and otolaryngologic conditions seen in the same clinic.ConclusionPatients with MD are of older age, more likely to be of White race, and disproportionately from rural locales. The demographic profile of patients diagnosed with MD by tertiary otology is better explained by differential susceptibility to MD than by selection bias.