British journal of neurosurgery
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To quantify the clinical findings in patients with potential cauda equina syndrome (CES). ⋯ TCS can improve the clinical assessment and management of patients with possible CES and improve communication between the doctors who are called upon to assess and treat such patients.
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Review Meta Analysis
Medically induced hypertension, hypervolaemia and haemodilution for the treatment and prophylaxis of vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage: systematic review.
Arterial vasospasm is a major cause of death and long-term disability following subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The use of medically induced hypertension, hypervolaemia and/or haemodilution is widely practiced for prophylaxis and treatment of vasospasm following SAH. We aimed to determine if the quality of available research is adequate to inform use of haemodynamic management strategies to prevent or treat vasospasm following SAH. ⋯ There is currently insufficient evidence to determine the efficacy or non-efficacy of intravenous volume expansion, medically induced hypertension or blood transfusion for the treatment or prophylaxis of vasospasm following SAH. All of these approaches have been associated with adverse events, of unclear incidence. The current evidence base therefore cannot be used to reliably inform clinical practice. This is a priority for further research.
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We reviewed the safety of our practice of admitting patients who have undergone a craniotomy for resection of an intra-axial brain tumor to a floor bed instead of an ICU. We also tried to quantify the risk that patients electively admitted to the ICU would develop a problem that could not have been effectively managed on the ward. ⋯ It is safe to admit almost all patients to a floor bed after craniotomy for intra-axial brain tumor resection. The risk of a catastrophic problem occurring after a 4 hour stay in the post anesthesia care unit is extremely low. Furthermore, even patients who are electively managed in an ICU are unlikely to develop problems that would lead to a worse outcome had they been in a floor bed.
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Postoperative antibiotics (PA) are often administered to patients after instrumented spinal surgery until all drains are removed to prevent surgical site infections (SSI). This practice is discouraged by numerous medical society guidelines, so our institutional Neurosurgery Quality Improvement Committee decided to discontinue use of PA for this population. ⋯ After discontinuing PA for patients who had instrumented spinal procedures, we did not observe an increase in the frequency of SSI. We did, however, note that there was a non-significant decrease in the frequency of growth of resistant organisms. These findings suggest that patients in this population do not need PA, and complications can be reduced if PA are withheld.
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Fixed dilated and unreactive pupils are a harbinger of imminent death in neurosurgical patients, signifying that the brainstem is not functioning. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography is a noninvasive, bedside method of determining the flow velocities in the basal cerebral arteries, used extensively in various neurosurgical conditions. ⋯ The various indices and waveforms of TCD can be useful in assessing the cerebral blood flow dynamics in patients with various traumatic and non-traumatic ailments in the peri-agonal period; and hence help in their management as well as in the confirmation of brainstem death.