Neurosurgery
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Historical Article
A History of the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies.
As neurological surgery evolved into its own subspecialty early in the 20th century, a need arose to create an environment for communication and education among those surgeons working in this burgeoning surgical discipline. As the socioeconomic climate in health care began to change in the United States, an unforeseen need arose that was outside the scope of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and Society of Neurological Surgeons. The capacity to understand and address the evolving socioeconomic landscape and to offer a platform for advocacy required a new entity. ⋯ The CSNS provides a forum in which state societies can meet to identify, understand, and advocate for policies on behalf of organized neurosurgery. The purpose of this paper is to detail the history of the formation of the CSNS. By understanding this history and the need for the development of the CSNS, it is hoped that its evolving role as a voice for neurological surgeons in the modern era of health care will be made clear.
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Premorbid antithrombotic medication may worsen intracranial injury and outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Routine laboratory tests are insufficient to evaluate platelet activity. ⋯ Rapid measurement of antiplatelet function using the aspirin and P2Y12 response assays indicated as many as one fourth of patients on antiplatelet therapy do not have platelet dysfunction. Further research is required to develop guidelines for the use of these assays to guide platelet transfusion in the setting of TBI.
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Reports on the natural history of tumor growth and hearing in patients with a vestibular schwannoma (VS) are almost exclusively short-term data. Long-term data are needed for comparison with results of surgery and radiotherapy. ⋯ Tumor growth occurred in only a minority of patients diagnosed with an intracanalicular VS during 10 years of observation. The risk of hearing loss is small in patients with normal discrimination at diagnosis. Serviceable hearing is preserved spontaneously in 34% according to AAO-HNS and in 58% according to the word recognition score.
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Given the vagaries of published guidelines and the lack of high-quality evidence on the method, timing, and dose of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in neurological surgery, little is known about practice patterns regarding VTE prophylaxis in the United States. ⋯ Nearly one-third of patients who underwent surgery for an intracranial tumor did not receive any VTE prophylaxis. We noted that the rate of overall VTE prophylaxis did not significantly change over the course of the 7 years analyzed despite an increasing focus on complication prevention. High-volume surgeons were more likely to provide VTE prophylaxis.