British journal of neurosurgery
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Case Reports
Asymptomatic presentation of huge extradural hematoma in a patient with arachnoid cyst.
Haemorrhagic complications of arachnoid cysts have been reported as subdural or intracystic hematoma following trauma. In this paper, we report a patient with arachnoid cyst who developed extradural hematoma after a subtle head injury and presented with very mild symptoms in spite of the huge size of the hematoma.
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Review Case Reports Meta Analysis
Contribution of case reports to glioblastoma research: systematic review and analysis of pattern of citation.
Research activity related to different aspects of diagnosis, epidemiology and treatment of glioblastoma has increased during recent years. Authors of scientific publications are able to choose between different formats including case reports. Little is known about their influence on advancement of the field or scientific merits. Do glioblastoma case reports attract attention or do they go largely unrecognized? ⋯ Compared to other formats, the proportion of case reports was limited and few of them were highly cited. It cannot be excluded that case reports without citation provide interesting information to some readers. However, their educational value is difficult to quantify.
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Review Case Reports
Titanium cranioplasty and the prediction of complications.
Titanium cranioplasty (TC), the operative repair of a skull defect with an ergonomically manufactured plate to restore cosmesis, cranial function and reduce complications is a common neurosurgical procedure. It is technically simple but has high complication rates. This study aimed to determine the incidence and predictors of complications following TC. ⋯ TC size is predictive of postoperative length of stay. However, the TC size is not predictive of complications or removal rate. Also, there was no association between interval since primary operation and complications. There was a non-significant trend for greater rates of TC removal in the elderly. There were no predictors of complications identified but they are common and patients should be consented accordingly.
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Decompressive craniectomy is often emergently performed in an effort to reduce intracranial hypertension. After this urgent intervention, brain-injured patients often start rehabilitation programs but are left with a skull defect. Cranioplasty is often performed in these situations in order to repair this defect, mainly for cosmetic reasons and/or the patient's safety. The possible effects of this breach on the patients' neurological recovery are poorly understood and have been scarcely evaluated until now. The effect of cranioplasty on cognitive and motor functions in severely brain-injured individuals remains controversial. ⋯ Results give clear evidence that a subset of patients are negatively affected by the persistence of a breach in skull integrity during the rehabilitation phase of brain injury. Moreover, they show that the repair of the cranial defect can trigger relevant neurological improvement in both motor and cognitive domains. This possibility should serve as a reminder to rehabilitation clinicians to give serious consideration to prompt performance of cranioplasty during the time allotted for the rehabilitation of these patients.
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Case Reports
De novo intracranial collision tumour in previously evacuated intracerebral haematoma site.
The authors report the rare and first documented case of intracranial collision tumour occurrence in a previously evacuated intracerebral haematoma site. Surgery trauma could predispose to collision tumour occurrence. Research efforts should try to reveal the possible pathogenesis of this condition.