P15.18.B RETURN TO WORK, SOCIAL, AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES AFTER AWAKE SURGERY FOR GLIOMAS

Abstract BACKGROUND To measure outcome after awake craniotomy for gliomas, attention has shifted from purely oncological outcomes to long-term quality of life and functional recovery. One important yet underexplored dimension of recovery is the resumption of everyday roles—not only employment, but also resuming social activities and participation in leisure activities. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate role resumption in the long-term after awake surgery, and explore possible related demographic and disease-related factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients with gliomas who underwent awake surgery between 2018-2022 were asked to participate, at least 6 months post-surgery. Resumption of work, social activities and leisure activities was investigated with the Role Resumption List (RRL), which was sent to patients. The RRL includes questions about changes in amount and quality of activities compared with pre-morbid levels, dichotomized in ‘complete resumption’ and ‘incomplete resumption’. Relationships with time since surgery, WHO grades, age, sex, and educational level were calculated using Spearman correlations, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Chi-square tests. RESULTS 25 patients completed the questionnaire and were included (M age = 47.6, range 17-69, M months since surgery = 19.6, WHO grades 2-4). Before surgery, 22 patients (88%) were employed. After surgery, 40.9% fully resumed their previous occupation. In the group of patients who did not return to work, age and WHO grade were significantly higher. Additionally, 60% reported changes in leisure activities after surgery (partial resumption of leisure activities or no activities at all). Significant associations were found with age and time since surgery: older patients and those at a shorter interval post-surgery reported more problems in leisure resumption. For social roles, 36.4% of patients reported changes (spending less time with family and friends and/or loss of quality of social relationships). No significant associations with demographic or disease-related variables were found for social role resumption. CONCLUSION After awake surgery for gliomas, work, leisure and social activities resumption can be affected. Disease severity (i.e. WHO grade) appears to be important in resuming work, but not for leisure and social activities. Additionally, older patients tend to report more problems in resumption of leisure and work activities. Importantly, this study was conducted within the context of clinical care and involved a relatively small patient group, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. A further understanding of patterns and predictors of role resumption following awake surgery, also in comparison to non-awake surgery, is essential to optimize patient-tailored guidance.