Examining Skull Base Surgeon Practice Patterns for Patients with OSA Undergoing Skull Base Surgery

Background Surgical resection of skull base tumors is commonplace at various tertiary care centers around the world. As surgery of the skull base will often violate dura, intraoperative and postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are to be expected. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) requiring continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy undergoing skull base surgery represent a challenging group. The presence of CSF leak, repaired or not, may represent a passageway into the intracranial compartment for air and bacteria. However, the level of evidence in the existing literature is based on case reports and series, and no clinical practice guideline exists.

Objective To examine practice patterns and expert opinion on the use of postoperative positive pressure ventilation in patients who routinely use CPAP undergoing skull base surgery.

Methods A 13-item survey was distributed to skull base surgeons across multiple institutions. Primary outcomes include mean duration until resuming the use of CPAP in CPAP-compliant patients versus patients without OSA.

Results and Conclusion Pending.