Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialPressure-derived versus pressure wave amplitude-derived indices of cerebrovascular pressure reactivity in relation to early clinical state and 12-month outcome following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Indices of cerebrovascular pressure reactivity (CPR) represent surrogate markers of cerebral autoregulation. Given that intracranial pressure (ICP) wave amplitude-guided management, as compared with static ICP-guided management, improves outcome following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), indices of CPR derived from pressure wave amplitudes should be further explored. This study was undertaken to investigate the value of CPR indices derived from static ICP-arterial blood pressure (ABP) values (pressure reactivity index [PRx]) versus ICP-ABP wave amplitudes (ICP-ABP wave amplitude correlation [IAAC]) in relation to the early clinical state and 12-month outcome in patients with aneurysmal SAH. ⋯ The IAAC, which is based on single ICP-ABP wave identification, relates significantly to the early clinical state and 12-month outcome following aneurysmal SAH. Impaired cerebrovascular pressure regulation during the 1st week after a bleed relates to a worse outcome. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NO.: NCT00248690.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2012
Case ReportsUtility of presurgical navigated transcranial magnetic brain stimulation for the resection of tumors in eloquent motor areas.
Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) is a newly evolving technique. Despite its supposed purpose (for example, preoperative central region mapping), little is known about its accuracy compared with established modalities like direct cortical stimulation (DCS) and functional MR (fMR) imaging. Against this background, the authors performed the current study to compare the accuracy of nTMS with DCS and fMR imaging. ⋯ Navigated TMS correlates well with DCS as a gold standard despite factors that are supposed to contribute to the inaccuracy of nTMS. Moreover, surgeons have found nTMS to be an additional and helpful modality during the resection of tumors affecting eloquent motor areas, as well as during preoperative planning.
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Staged resection of large vestibular schwannomas (VSs) has been proposed as a strategy to improve facial nerve outcomes and morbidity. The authors report their experience with 2-stage resections of large VSs and analyze the indications, facial nerve outcomes, surgical results, and complications. The authors compare these results with those of a similar cohort of patients who underwent a single-stage resection. ⋯ The authors' results suggest that staged resection of large VSs may potentially achieve better facial nerve outcomes. There does not appear to be added neurological morbidity with staged resections.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2012
Is aggressive treatment of traumatic brain injury cost-effective?
The object of this study was to determine whether aggressive treatment of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), including invasive intracranial monitoring and decompressive craniectomy, is cost-effective. ⋯ When all the costs of severe TBI are considered, aggressive treatment is a cost-effective option, even for older patients. Comfort care for severe TBI is associated with poor outcomes and high costs, and should be reserved for situations in which aggressive approaches have failed or testing suggests such treatment is futile.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2012
Use and utility of preoperative hemostatic screening and patient history in adult neurosurgical patients.
The utility of preoperative hemostasis screening to predict complications is uncertain. The authors quantified the screening rate in US neurosurgery patients and evaluated the ability of abnormal test results as compared with history-based risk factors to predict hemostasis-related and general outcomes. ⋯ This is the first study focused on assessing preoperative hemostasis screening as compared with patient history in a large multicenter sample of adult neurosurgery patients to predict hemostasis-related outcomes. Patient history was as predictive as laboratory testing for all outcomes, with higher sensitivity. Routine laboratory screening appears to have limited utility. Testing limited to neurosurgical patients with a positive history would save an estimated $81,942,000 annually.