Safety-Net Hospitals Have Increased Costs of Care Following Acoustic Neuroma Surgery.

Authors

Amor Niksic, Dakota Lipps, Hitomi Sakano, Daniel Killeen, Joe Walter Kutz, Brandon Isaacson, Rance J T Fujiwara

Published in

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology. Oct 19, 2026. Epub Oct 19, 2026.

Abstract

To evaluate whether safety-net hospital (SNH) status is associated with differences in patient characteristics, postoperative complications, and hospitalization costs following acoustic neuroma resection.
Retrospective analysis of a nationally representative inpatient database.
United States acute care hospitals participating in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample (NIS).
Adults (18 y or older) undergoing surgical excision of an acoustic neuroma from 2001 to 2021, identified using ICD-9-CM 04.01 and ICD-10-PCS 00BN0ZZ. Patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 were excluded.
Craniotomy for excision of acoustic neuroma.
Postoperative surgical/CNS and medical complications; total inpatient hospitalization costs.
The cohort included 50,991 admissions, of which 13,245 (26.0%) occurred at SNHs. SNH patients were more likely to have Medicaid insurance (8.9% vs. 4.2%) and lower household income. On univariate analysis, SNHs had higher rates of hydrocephalus (6.0% vs. 3.8%), dysphagia (4.3% vs. 2.2%), pulmonary edema (2.1% vs. 1.1%), and sepsis (0.9% vs. 0.2%). After multivariable adjustment, SNH care remained independently associated with increased odds of medical complications (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.01-1.70; P=0.04) but not surgical/CNS complications (OR: 1.10; P=0.23). Mean hospitalization costs were higher in SNHs ($42,749 vs. $36,456; P=0.003), and SNH status independently increased costs by $35,679 per admission (P=0.02).
SNHs care for socioeconomically vulnerable patients undergoing acoustic neuroma resection and experience higher medical complication rates and significantly increased hospitalization costs. These findings highlight the need for resource-informed policy efforts and targeted support to sustain equitable access to complex neurotologic surgery.
Level III.

PMID:
42895989
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 20 Oct 2026.

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