• Hansen Deng, John K Yue, and Doris D Wang.
• Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• Br J Neurosurg. 2021 Feb 1; 35 (1): 57-64.

PurposeDeep brain stimulation (DBS) is being increasingly utilized to treat movement disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor (ET), and dystonia. An improved understanding of national trends in safety and cost is necessary. Herein, our objectives are to (1) characterize complication, mortality, and cost profiles of patients undergoing DBS for movement disorders in the United States, (2) identify predictors of morbidity and mortality, and (3) evaluate impact of complications on cost.MethodsDBS surgeries were extracted from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2002-2014 for the clinical indications of PD, ET, and dystonia. Patient characteristics and eight complication categories (hardware malfunction, infection, neurological, other haemorrhagic, thromboembolic, cardiac, pulmonary, and renal/urinary) were reviewed. Outcomes included complications, mortality, hospitalization length, and inflation-adjusted cost.ResultsThere were 44,866 weighted admissions (PD-73.5%, ET-22.7%, dystonia-3.8%). The number of procedures increased 2.22-fold from 2002 to 2014 (N = 2372 in 2002; N = 5260 in 2014). Inpatient cost was $22,802 ± 13,164, remaining stable from 2002 to 2014 ($24,188 ± 15,910, $20,630 ± 11,031, respectively). Four percent experienced complications (dystonia-6.0%, PD-4.4%, ET-3.1%, p < .001). In-hospital mortality was 0.2%. Cost was greater in patients with complications ($36,306 ± 29,263 vs. $22,196 ± 11,560, p < .001). Most common complications were renal/urinary (1.5%), neurological (1.1%), and pulmonary (0.7%). Thromboembolic, pulmonary, and haemorrhagic complications were associated with greatest cost.ConclusionIncreased DBS utilization for adult movement disorders in the United States from 2002 to 2014 was attributed to rapid adoption by teaching hospitals for PD. DBS remains a safe procedure with low overall complications and stable inpatient costs from 2002 to 2014. Complication risks vary by type of movement disorder, and although rare, multiple complications increase morbidity and cost of care.

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