Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2016
Enlargement of the middle meningeal artery on MR angiography in chronic subdural hematoma.
OBJECT The middle meningeal artery (MMA) is suspected to play an important role in the development of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH). The aim of this study was to clarify whether the MMA was enlarged in patients with CSDHs. METHODS The authors retrospectively assessed 55 patients in whom CSDH was diagnosed between 2010 and 2014 and who underwent MR angiography (MRA) after the onset of CSDH. ⋯ The diameters of the MMAs in 55 patients with CSDHs were significantly larger than those of the MMAs in the 55 control patients (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The MMA is enlarged with development of a CSDH. Information about the MMA observed on MRA in patients with CSDHs may be useful in developing a strategy for future treatment of CSDHs.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2016
Comparative StudyComparison of 7.0- and 3.0-T MRI and MRA in ischemic-type moyamoya disease: preliminary experience.
OBJECT The authors compared the image quality and diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 7.0-T and 3.0-T MRI and time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography (MRA) in patients with moyamoya disease (MMD). METHODS MR images of 15 patients with ischemic-type MMD (8 males, 7 females; age 13-48 years) and 13 healthy controls (7 males, 6 females; age 19-28 years) who underwent both 7.0-T and 3.0-T MRI and MRA were studied retrospectively. The main intracranial arteries were assessed by using the modified Houkin's grading system (MRA score). ⋯ Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that, according to the T2 criteria, 7.0-T MRI/MRA was more sensitive (sensitivity 1.000; specificity 0.933) than 3.0-T MRI/MRA (sensitivity 0.692; specificity 0.933) in diagnosing MMD; based on the TOF criteria, 7.0-T MRI/MRA was more sensitive (1.000 vs 0.733, respectively) and more specific (1.000 vs 0.923, respectively) than 3.0-T MRI/MRA. CONCLUSIONS Compared with 3.0-T MRI/MRA, 7.0-T MRI/MRA detected and delineated MMVs more clearly and provided higher diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, although it did not show significant improvement in depicting main intracranial arteries. The authors speculate that 7.0-T MRI/MRA is a promising technique in the diagnosis of MMD because it is noninvasive compared with conventional angiography and it is more sensitive than 3.0-T MRI/MRA.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2016
Prospective, multidisciplinary recording of perioperative errors in cerebrovascular surgery: is error in the eye of the beholder?
OBJECT Surgery requires careful coordination of multiple team members, each playing a vital role in mitigating errors. Previous studies have focused on eliciting errors from only the attending surgeon, likely missing events observed by other team members. METHODS Surveys were administered to the attending surgeon, resident surgeon, anesthesiologist, and nursing staff immediately following each of 31 cerebrovascular surgeries; participants were instructed to record any deviation from optimal course (DOC). ⋯ The authors estimate that previous studies surveying only the attending physician missed up to 75% of perioperative errors. By finding significant correlations between technical DOCs and prolonged hospital stays and reported and actual delays, this study shows that these surveys provide relevant and useful information for improving clinical practice. Overall, the results of this study emphasize that research on medical error must include input from all members of the operating team; it is only by understanding every perspective that surgical staff can begin to efficiently prevent errors, improve patient care and safety, and decrease delays.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jun 2016
Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging reveals net retrograde aqueductal flow in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.
OBJECT The objective of this study was to assess the net aqueductal stroke volume (ASV) and CSF aqueductal flow rate derived from phase-contrast MRI (PC-MRI) in patients with probable idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) before and after ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery, and to compare observations with intracranial pressure (ICP) scores. METHODS PC-MRI at the level of the sylvian aqueduct was undertaken in patients undergoing assessment for probable iNPH. Aqueductal flow in the craniocaudal direction was defined as positive, or antegrade flow, and net ASV was calculated by subtracting retrograde from antegrade aqueductal flow. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS In this cohort of patients with iNPH, retrograde net aqueductal flow was observed in 16 (76%) of 21 patients. It was reversed toward the antegrade direction after shunt placement either by magnitude or completely in 9 (75%) of 12 patients examined using PC-MRI both before and after shunt placement (p = 0.04); 11 of the 12 were shunt responders. The study results question previously established concepts with respect to both CSF circulation pathways and CSF formation rate.