Clinical neurology and neurosurgery
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2013
Comparative StudyAccuracy of tunnelated vs. bolt-connected external ventricular drains.
Ventriculostomy is one of the most common neurosurgical procedures and an important tool in the treatment and monitoring of elevated intracranial pressure. Low accuracy has frequently been reported in the literature with risk of drain misplacement over 20% and with a need for reinsertion in up to 40%. As an alternative to the tunnelated EVD technique we often use a bolt-connected EVD. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the use of bolt-connected EVDs would lead to higher accuracy, fewer passes and reoperations due to poor placement compared to tunnelated EVDs. ⋯ We have showed in this study that by using a bolt-connected EVD and maintaining the freehanded technique we can significantly increase precision and decrease the number of reoperations due to poor placement.
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2013
Observational StudyRehabilitation outcome of patients with severe and prolonged disorders of consciousness after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).
Our objectives were to evaluate rehabilitation outcome of aSAH survivors with severe disorders of consciousness (DOC) and to examine potential predictors of long-term outcome. Severe DOC includes patients in a vegetative state (VS) and in a minimally conscious state (MCS). ⋯ About one-third of severely affected aSAH patients with DOC regained at least a favorable behavioral status during early neurorehabilitation. It is interesting to note that in our study population, the beginning of clinical improvement took up to 6 months after aSAH.
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2013
Comparative StudyA comparison between cyberknife and neurosurgery in solitary brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer.
To evaluate the efficacy of cyberknife (CK) and neurosurgery (NS) in patients newly diagnosed as solitary brain metastasis (SBM) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ⋯ There was no statistical difference between CK and NS for SBM from NSCLC in OS, LC and IC. However, CK is less invasive and may be more acceptable for patients. The result needs randomized trials to confirm and further study.