Greater availability of neurosurgeons could reduce risk of death from motor vehicle accidents
Researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire have found an association between increasing the distribution of neurosurgeons throughout the United States and decreasing the risk of death from motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). The findings of their study are described in the article "Increased population density of neurosurgeons associated with decreased risk of death from MVAs in the United States. Clinical article," by Atman Desai, M.D., and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
The researchers reviewed some basics about MVAs, the leading cause of death in the United States among young persons (1 to 34 years of age). The primary cause of death arising from MVAs is traumatic brain injury, whose treatment is generally handled by neurosurgeons. Motor vehicle accidents are more likely to result in fatalities in rural settings, which some attribute to a slow medical response time and reduced access to trauma resources. For the most part, neurosurgeons are clustered in and around cities that house tertiary care hospitals, and thus there is an uneven distribution of this specialty throughout the US. Bearing these facts in mind, the authors hypothesized that an increased population density of neurosurgeons would decrease the risk of death from an MVA.
Desai and colleagues performed a retrospective analysis of data from the Area Resource File (2009-2010), a database containing county-level information on health care facilities and their utilization and expenditures; health care professionals and their training; and socioeconomic and environmental characteristics. Data from 3141 US counties were analyzed; 2051 of these counties were classified as rural. The primary outcome variable was the average number of deaths due to MVAs per million population for each county during the 3-year period 2004 through 2006.The primary independent variable was the density of neurosurgeons (number of neurosurgeons per million population) in 2006.
In the 3141 US counties that were examined, the mean number of MVA-related deaths per million persons was 226. The average number of neurosurgeons per county was six. The greatest number of neurosurgeons in a county was 372; most counties had none. In an unadjusted analysis, the authors found that an increase of one neurosurgeon per million population was associated with 1.9 fewer deaths due to MVAs per million population.
In a multivariate analysis, in which adjustments were made for county urbanicity, socioeconomic conditions, and density of general practitioners, an increase of one neurosurgeon was associated with 1.01 fewer deaths from MVAs per million population. This association was present regardless of whether the county was rural or urban. When Desai and colleagues compared the association between deaths from MVAs and the distribution of other medical specialties, the researchers found that an equivalent decrease in MVA-related deaths (one fewer death) would require an addition of 33 primary care providers; according to another study, an addition of 6 general surgeons per million population would be needed for the same affect. Rural setting, persistent poverty, and low level of education were all associated with significant increases in MVA-related deaths.
Given the association found between the distribution of neurosurgeons and MVA-related deaths, Desai and colleagues conclude that the availability of local neurosurgeons may be important for the overall likelihood of surviving an MVA, and thus neurosurgical education and practice throughout the US should be promoted.
More information: Desai A, Bekelis K, Zhao W., Ball PA: "Increased population density of neurosurgeons associated with decreased risk of death from MVAs in the United States. Clinical Article." Journal of Neurosurgery, published ahead of print July 24, 2012; DOI: 10.3171/2012.6.JNS111281
Journal reference:
Journal of Neurosurgery
Provided by Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group
-
Surgeon availability tied to survival rate in vehicle crashes
Mar 28, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Guns claim kids' lives in both urban, rural areas
May 24, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
US counties with more African-American patients may have fewer colorectal cancer specialists
Jun 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
US sees decline in number of general surgeons
Apr 21, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Road traffic deaths in China have soared almost 100 percent in 20 years
Jun 05, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
23 hours ago
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
-
Ratio of Hydrogen of Oxygen in Dessicated Animal Protein
May 13, 2013
-
Alcohol and acetaminophen
May 13, 2013
-
Marie Curie's leukemia
May 13, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests
Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...
Neuroscience
May 18, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Temporal processing in the olfactory system
The neural machinery underlying our olfactory sense continues to be an enigma for neuroscience. A recent review in Neuron seeks to expand traditional ideas about how neurons in the olfactory bulb might encode information about ...
Neuroscience
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Melon focus headband turns to Kickstarter for rollout plans
(Medical Xpress)—What if the quality of your work depends more on your focus on the piano keys or canvas or laptop than your musical or painting or computing skills? If target users can be convinced, they ...
Neuroscience
May 17, 2013 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Deep brain stimulation: A fix when the drugs don't work
Neurological disorders can have a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers and their families.
Neuroscience
May 17, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone
If you're a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Neuroscience
May 16, 2013 |
2 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Ketamine shows significant therapeutic benefit in people with treatment-resistant depression
Patients with treatment-resistant major depression saw dramatic improvement in their illness after treatment with ketamine, an anesthetic, according to the largest ketamine clinical trial to-date led by researchers from the ...
Consuming coffee linked to lower risk of detrimental liver disease, study finds
Regular consumption of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), an autoimmune liver disease, Mayo Clinic research shows. The findings were being presented at the Digestive Disease ...
Research examines new methods for managing digestive health
Research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) explores new methods for managing digestive health through diet and lifestyle.
New smartphone application improves colonoscopy preparation
The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week (DDW). The preparation process, which begins days in ...
New research identifies practice changes to improve value and quality of GI procedures
There are significant cost and risk factors associated with two procedures commonly used to diagnose or treat gastrointestinal problems, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).
New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).