Background: Patients, post elective brain tumour surgeries, are usually admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for quick identification of life-threatening complications or for elective ventilation. The Covid-19 pandemic exerted additional strain on the limited ICU spaces. This study was to probe the need for ICU admission following elective surgery for brain tumour in our environment on the background of enormous constraints.
Methods: Data was collected prospectively from patients who had elective brain tumour surgery over 12-months at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Data included the indications for ICU admission and outcome. Chi-square test and Student t-test were used for analysis at α ≤ 0.05.
Results: There were 56 patients with a mean age of 44.6 years and M:F ratio of 1:1. 61.8% of the patients were admitted into the ICU for observation. Patients who had open surgeries were 2 times more likely to be admitted (p<0.01; OR = 2.2, CI: 2.0 - 36.8) than those who had endoscopic surgeries. Awake craniotomy patients did not require ICU care compared with the 63% of the patients who had General Anaesthesia + Endo Tracheal Tube (GA+ETT). Patients with skull base and posterior fossa tumours were more likely to be admitted into the ICU (p=0.036). Of the 34 patients admitted into the ICU, 11(19.6%) had prolonged ICU stay and were 2 times more likely to die compared with those with short admissions (p<0.01; OR = 2.5, CI: 2.29 - 70.02).
Conclusion: Observation is the main reason patients are admitted into the ICU. The endoscopic and awake surgery approaches appear to preclude the need for ICU admission, thus capable of cutting costs.
Keywords: Brain tumour; Covid-19 craniotomy; Intensive care unit; Nigeria..
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