Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
Detailed standardized protocol to prevent cerebrospinal fluid shunt infection.
While cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt surgery plays an essential role in the treatment of hydrocephalus, postoperative infection due to the implantation of foreign materials is still one of the most common and potentially serious complications of this procedure. Because no previously reported protocol has been proven to prevent postoperative infection after CSF shunt surgeries in adults, the authors investigated the effectiveness of a protocol introduced in their institution. ⋯ The authors' detailed protocol for CSF shunt surgeries was effective in preventing postoperative infection regardless of patient age.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
Safety and efficacy of intravascular ultrasound as an adjunct to stenting for cerebral venous sinus stenosis-induced idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a pilot study.
Symptomatic intracranial hypertension can be caused by cerebral venous sinus stenosis (CVSS) and cerebral venous sinus thrombotic (CVST) stenosis, which is usually found in some patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Recently, at the authors' center, they utilized intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) as an adjunct to conventional venoplasty or stenting to facilitate diagnosis and accurate stent placement in CVSS. ⋯ IVUS is a promising tool with the potential to improve the diagnostic accuracy in IIH, aiding in identification of the types of intracranial venous stenosis, assisting in stent selection, and guiding stent placement. Further study of the utility of IVUS in venous stenting and venous stenosis pathology is warranted.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
Lumbar epidural blood patch: effectiveness on orthostatic headache and MRI predictive factors in 101 consecutive patients affected by spontaneous intracranial hypotension.
Although epidural blood patch (EBP) is considered the gold-standard treatment for drug-resistant orthostatic headache in spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH), no clear evidence exists regarding the best administration method of this technique (blind vs target procedures). The aim of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy of blind lumbar EBP and predictors on preoperative MRI of good outcome. ⋯ Lumbar EBP may be considered safe and effective in cases of drug-refractory SIH. The presence of a preprocedural PMA < 40° and location of the iter > 2 mm below the incisural line were the most significant predictors of good outcome. Randomized prospective clinical trials comparing lumbar with targeted EBP are warranted to validate these results.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
Placement of cesium-131 permanent brachytherapy seeds using the endoscopic endonasal approach for recurrent anaplastic skull base meningioma: case report and technical note.
There are few therapeutic options available for the treatment of recurrent meningiomas that have failed treatment with surgery and external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT). As additional EBRT is clinically risky, brachytherapy offers an important alternative for optimizing local control. In skull base meningiomas, the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) has demonstrated an excellent extent of resection. ⋯ The authors performed a maximally safe neurosurgical tumor resection via EEA supplemented by the intraoperative implantation of 131Cs low-dose permanent brachytherapy seeds. They describe a technique for permanent implantation of brachytherapy seeds and provide operative video of this technique. The authors submit that utilizing this technique in combination with EEA tumor resection renders a minimally invasive approach to improving local control in a patient with a recurrent anaplastic or atypical meningioma of the skull base.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
Infection risk in endovascular neurointerventions: a comparative analysis of 549 cases with and without prophylactic antibiotic use.
A systematic analysis on the utility of prophylactic antibiotics for neuroendovascular procedures has not been performed. At the authors' institution there is a unique setup to address this question, with some attending physicians using prophylactic antibiotics (cefazolin or vancomycin) for all of their neurointerventions while others generally do not. ⋯ The risk of infection associated with endovascular neurointerventions with or without prophylactic antibiotic use was very low in this cohort. The data suggest that the routine use of antibiotic prophylaxis seems unnecessary and that to prevent antibiotic resistance and reduce costs antibiotic prophylaxis should be reserved for selected patients deemed to be at increased infection risk.