Neurosurgery
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The American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Washington Committee was formed in 1975 to establish a means for neurosurgery to influence federal health care policy. In response to growing federal health care legislation and regulation, the Washington Committee expanded from its original six members in 1975 to 35 invited liaisons and members by 2020. The Washington Committee, through the Washington Office, expanded political lobbying capacity into numerous important areas of health care policy, including Current Procedural Terminology coding and Medicare reimbursement, Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulation, healthcare quality oversight, emergenc medical services, treatment guidelines, treatment outcome registries, medical liability reform, research funding, and information dissemination. Over 45 yr, the Washington Committee has become an indispensable resource for shaping public policy affecting neurosurgery training, research, and practice.
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Ability to thrive and time-to-recurrence following treatment are important parameters to assess in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), given its dismal prognosis. Though there is an ongoing debate whether it can be considered an appropriate surrogate endpoint for overall survival in clinical trials, progression-free survival (PFS) is routinely used for clinical decision-making. ⋯ A robust ML-based prediction model that identifies patients at high risk for early recurrence was successfully trained and internally validated. Considerable effort remains to integrate these predictions in a patient-centered care context.
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Postpartum vertebral artery dissections (ppVADs) are rare but potentially morbid conditions that occur in otherwise healthy patients. ⋯ There are only 15 isolated ppVADs reported in the literature; this study adds 12 patients with 17 ppVADs. Postpartum VADs occur in younger, healthier patients than in the general cohort, raising questions about mechanism of injury. The majority of ppVADs have good neurological outcomes.
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There is a paucity of information regarding treatment strategies and variables affecting outcomes of revision lumbar fusions. ⋯ All revision lumbar spinal fusion approaches may not achieve the same outcomes. This analysis suggests that revision surgeries may have better outcomes when performed by a different surgeon.