Clinical neurology and neurosurgery
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2020
Neurological complications in a predominantly African American sample of COVID-19 predict worse outcomes during hospitalization.
People with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, COVID-19, can have neurological problems including headache, anosmia, dysgeusia, altered mental status (AMS), ischemic stroke with or without large vessel occlusion, and Guillen-Barre Syndrome. Louisiana was one of the states hit hardest by the pandemic with just over 57,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 by the end of June 2020. We reviewed the electronic medical records (EMR) of patients hospitalized during the peak of the pandemic, March 1st through March 31st, to document the type and frequency of neurological problems seen in patients with COVID-19 at presentation to the emergency room. ⋯ In the multivariate model, dialysis, OR = 4.9 (2.6,9.4, p < 0.0001), and AMS, OR = 8.8 (3.9,21.2, p < 0.0001), were the only independent predictors of intubation. Neurological complaints at presentation and during the hospital stay are associated with a higher risk of death, prolonged hospital stay, and intubation. More work is needed to determine whether the cause of the neurological complaints was direct CNS involvement by the virus or the other systemic complications of the virus.
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2020
Efficacy of scalp nerve blocks using ropivacaïne 0,75% associated with intravenous dexamethasone for postoperative pain relief in craniotomies.
Pain after supratentorial craniotomy is common, 55 % to 80 % of patients experience moderate to severe pain in the first 48 h(1-7). The importance of intravenous dexamethasone as an adjuvant to local anaesthetics is increasingly applied(1-7), however its role in scalp nerve blocks with ropivacaine 0.75 % remains unexplored in post-operative analgesia. We analyzed 134 supratentorial craniotomies under general anaesthesia, 46 of which had preoperatively bilateral scalp nerve blocks with ropivacaine 0.75 %. ⋯ Peroperatively the scalp nerve blocks group showed a decrease in opioid consumption and a better hemodynamic stability. No anesthetic or chirurgical complications related to the use of scalp blocks were observed. Scalp nerve blocks associated with intravenous dexamethasone are found to be a straightforward and efficient analgesic approach during supratentorial craniotomies.
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2020
Multicenter StudyThe safety and efficacy of the LVIS stent for the treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms within 24 hours: A multicenter retrospective study.
Stent-assisted coiling is increasingly used in the treatment of acutely ruptured intracranial aneurysms. However, the optimal timing of the stent-assisted coiling remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of the Low Profile Visualized Intraluminal Support (LVIS) stent for ruptured aneurysms treatment within 24 h comparing to the treatment between 25 and 72 h of symptom onset. ⋯ The LVIS stent-assisted coiling may be safe and effective in the treatment of selected patients with ruptured aneurysms within 24 h of symptom onset.
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2020
Predict overall survival of spinal conventional chordoma: Development and assessment of a new predictive nomogram.
To predict the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate in patients with conventional chordoma of the spine PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Registry was used to identify patients with conventional chordoma of the spine from 1994 to 2013. The entire cohort(n = 294) was randomly divided into training (n = 147) and validation (n = 147) cohorts to construct a nomogram. We used the univariate Log-rank test and multivariate Cox model to examine the independent prognostic factors associated with OS. These prognostic factors were integrated to construct a nomogram through R studio. The predictive and validating capacity of the nomogram was calculated by Harrell's concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves. ⋯ The findings of this study provide population-based estimates of patients with conventional chordoma of the spine. Using this nomogram, surgeons can classify patients into different risk groups and achieve individualized treatment.
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Oct 2020
Keeping the team together: Transformation of an inpatient neurology service at an urban, multi-ethnic, safety net hospital in New York City during COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected the operations of New York City hospitals during March and April of 2020. This article describes the transformation of a neurology division at a 450-bed tertiary care hospital in a multi-ethnic community in Brooklyn during this initial wave of COVID-19. In lieu of a mass redeployment of staff to internal medicine teams, we report a novel method for a neurology division to participate in a hospital's expansion of care for patients with COVID-19 while maintaining existing team structures and their inherent supervisory and interpersonal support mechanisms.