Neurosurgery
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Routine follow-up head imaging in complicated mild traumatic brain injury (cmTBI) patients has not been shown to alter treatment, improve outcomes, or identify patients in need of neurosurgical intervention. We developed a follow-up head computed tomography (CT) triage algorithm for cmTBI patients to decrease the number of routine follow-up head CT scans obtained in this population. ⋯ Utilizing this protocol, we were able to safely decrease the use of routine follow-up head CT scans in cmTBI patients by 71% without any missed injuries or delayed surgery. Adoption of the protocol was high among all services managing TBI patients.
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Multicenter Study
The Use of Antiplatelet Agents and Heparin in the 24-Hour Postintravenous Alteplase Window for Neurointervention.
Intravenous (IV) alteplase with mechanical thrombectomy has been found to be superior to alteplase alone in select patients with intracranial large vessel occlusion. Current guidelines discourage the use of antiplatelet agents or heparin for 24 h following alteplase. However, their use is often necessary in certain circumstances during thrombectomy procedures. ⋯ The use of antiplatelet agents and heparin for stroke interventions following IV alteplase appears to be safe without significant increased risk of hemorrhagic complications in this group of patients when compared to control data and randomized controlled trials.
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Comparative Study
Laparoscopic-Assisted Versus Mini-Open Laparotomy for Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Placement in the Medicare Population.
Placement of the distal shunt catheter into the peritoneum during ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) surgery can be done with either laparoscopic assistance or laparotomy. ⋯ In the largest retrospective analysis to date, patients with a history of abdominal surgery and obesity were found to be at increased risk of infection and distal revision after VPS placement. However, the laparoscopic approach for abdominal placement of the distal catheter was associated with reduced rates of distal revision in this population, suggesting an avenue for reducing complications in well-selected patients.
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Hypopituitarism is the most frequent complication after pituitary adenoma stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and is correlated with increasing radiation to the pituitary gland. Biological effective dose (BED) is a dosimetric parameter that incorporates a time component to adjust for mechanisms of deoxyribonucleic acid repair activated during treatment. ⋯ BED predicted hypopituitarism more reliably than mean gland dose after pituitary adenoma SRS, but additional studies are needed to confirm these results.
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In 2020, the Guidelines Task Force conducted another systematic review of the relevant literature on deep brain stimulation (DBS) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to update the original 2014 guidelines to ensure timeliness and accuracy for clinical practice. ⋯ Based on the data published in the literature, the following recommendations can be made: (1) It is recommended that clinicians utilize bilateral subthalamic nucleus DBS over best medical management for the treatment of patients with medically refractory OCD (level I). (2) Clinicians may use bilateral nucleus accumbens or bed nucleus of stria terminalis DBS for the treatment of patients with medically refractory OCD (level II). There is insufficient evidence to make a recommendation for the identification of the most effective target.The full guidelines can be accessed at https://www.cns.org/guidelines/browse-guidelines-detail/deep-brain-stimulation-obsessive-compulsive-disord.