Table 2.
Levels of resource use according to intervention arm over 12-month treatment period for all UK patients (based on available data)
| Resource use | Craniotomy (N=126) | DC (N=122) | P value* |
| Hospital-recorded, index admission | |||
| Primary intervention received, not as randomised, No. | 13 (n=126) | 8 (n=122) | – |
| Duration of index surgery (hours), mean±SD (No./n) | 2.57±0.89 (122/122) | 2.50±0.93 (110/110) | 0.603 |
| ICU length of stay (index admission) (days), mean±SD (No./n) | 11.85±8.61 (123/126) | 13.52±11.28 (121/122) | 0.189 |
| NSU length of stay (index admission) (days), mean±SD (No./n) | 16.75±24.92 (93/122) | 21.30±31.10 (99/120) | 0.210 |
| Further DCs (index admission), No. | 15 (n=116) | 4 (n=116) | – |
| Further haematoma evacuations (index admission), No. | 9 (n=116) | 2 (n=116) | – |
| Further wound revisions (index admission), No. | 1 (n=116) | 6 (n=116) | – |
| Further other cranial operations (index admission)†, No. | 3 (n=116) | 2 (n=2) | – |
| Hospital-recorded (cranioplasties and shunts (index admission and postdischarge) | |||
| Primary cranioplasties, No. | 21 (n=124) | 62 (n=121) | – |
| Cranioplasties requiring synthetic plate, No. (%) | 17 (81.0%) (n=21) | 46 (74.2%) (n=62) | – |
| Cranioplasty revisions, No. | 5 (n=124) | 7 (n=121) | – |
| Cranioplasties (primary/revisions) requiring readmission, No. | 17 (n=124) | 58 (n=121) | – |
| Primary shunts, No. | 5 (n=126) | 4 (n=118) | – |
| Shunt revisions, No. | 5 (n=126) | 2 (n=118) | – |
| Shunts (primary/revisions) requiring re-admission, No. | 4 (n=126) | 4 (n=118) | – |
| Postdischarge cranioplasty/shunt-related procedures (combined), No. | 21 (n=124) | 61 (n=118) | – |
| Patient-reported, postdischarge | |||
| Overnight stay with associated skull/brain operation, No. | 13 (n=111) | 32 (n=95) | – |
| Any overnight stay excluding skull/brain operation, No. reporting ≥1 stay | 61 (n=111) | 54 (n=95) | – |
| Overnight stay on rehabilitation unit,‡ (days), mean±SD (No./n) | 32.51±63.09 (45/111) | 35.10±68.80 (36/90) | 0.782 |
| Overnight stay on NSU,‡ (days), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.49±2.00 (8/111) | 1.14±5.57 (5/95) | 0.252 |
| Overnight stay on ICU,‡ (days), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.13±1.33 (1/111) | 0.07±0.72 (1/95) | 0.731 |
| Overnight stay on other ward,‡ (days), mean±SD (No./n) | 4.94±18.08 (20/109) | 3.04±17.00 (10/93) | 0.447 |
| Healthcare professional contact, N reporting≥1 visit | 64 (n=109) | 47 (n=94) | – |
| Hospital doctor (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.60±1.33 (28/106) | 0.61±1.46 (24/92) | 0.980 |
| Nurse (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 2.20±16.53 (8/107) | 0.76±5.28 (7/92) | 0.426 |
| General practitioner (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 1.23±2.44 (36/106) | 1.09±1.93 (30/93) | 0.656 |
| Physiotherapist (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 2.38±7.11 (29/105) | 4.03±11.19 (19/91) | 0.213 |
| Occupational therapist (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 1.56±3.41 (32/105) | 2.22±7.22 (19/92) | 0.407 |
| Speech therapist (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.55±2.29 (10/107) | 0.31±1.40 (9/90) | 0.386 |
| Social worker (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.16±0.77 (6/107) | 0.12±0.44 (7/92) | 0.665 |
| Community care assistant (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 2.68±21.44 (3/106) | 2.84±20.45 (3/92) | 0.958 |
| Emergency department (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.10±0.53 (5/107) | 0.18±0.61 (10/93) | 0.321 |
| Psychologist/neuropsychologist (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.27±1.24 (7/107) | 0.46±2.72 (7/93) | 0.514 |
| Other healthcare professional (visits), mean±SD (No./n) | 0.03±0.22 (2/107) | 0.04±0.33 (2/93) | 0.699 |
| Head/brain scan, No. reporting ≥1 scan | 47 (n=111) | 44 (n=93) | – |
| MRI scans, mean±SD (No./n) | 0.31±0.62 (27/111) | 0.33±0.56 (28/93) | 0.745 |
| CT scans, mean±SD (No./n) | 0.33±0.67 (27/111) | 0.45±0.73 (33/93) | 0.228 |
| Other scans, mean±SD (No./n) | 0.04±0.19 (4/111) | 0.02±0.15 (2/93) | 0.543 |
| Patient-reported, postdischarge (wider resource use) | |||
| Time in a care home (weeks), mean±SD (No./n) | 1.79±7.14 (10/109) | 3.53±10.40 (12/91) | 0.164 |
| Help from carer (hours), mean±SD (No./n) | 971±2017 (46/99) | 1000±2225 (36/86) | 0.925 |
*For the mean cost difference between groups,
†Excluding cranioplasties and shunts.
‡Excluding those reported (by the patient) to be associated with a skull/brain operation (estimates were instead based on hospital-recorded data (see online supplemental table S1).
DC, decompressive craniectomy; ICU, intensive care unit; n, number of patients for whom data were available; N, number allocated to that trial arm; No., number of patients in receipt of the resource item in question i.e. excluding zero values; NSU, neurosurgical unit; SD, standard deviation.