World Neurosurg
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Review Historical Article
Hypothermia for acute spinal cord injury--a review.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a catastrophic neurological event with no proven treatments that protect against its consequences. Potential benefits of hypothermia in preventing/limiting central nervous system injury are now well known. There has been an interest in its potential use after SCI. This article reviews the current experimental and clinical evidence on the use of therapeutic hypothermia in patients with SCI. ⋯ There is robust experimental and some clinical evidence that hypothermia is beneficial in acute SCI. Larger, multicenter trials should be initiated to further study the usefulness of systemic hypothermia in SCI.
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Biography Historical Article
Constantin N. Arseni (1912-1994) centenary: the birth of modern neurosurgery in Romania.
Prof. Dr. Constantin N. ⋯ Arseni's birth in a small village within a deprived area of the country. Through his talents and perseveration, he rose to be a neurosurgical school creator and one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century Eastern European neurosurgery. This historical vignette is a modest tribute to his legacy and tells the story of his titanic endeavor.
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Case Reports
A rare case of recurrent frontal osteoma complicated by mucopyocele with an unusual organism, Moraxella catarrhalis.
We report a rare case of recurrent frontal osteoma complicated by mucopyocele and intracranial abscess. Furthermore, we report an unusual organism, Moraxella catarrhalis, as the infectious agent. Finally, we demonstrate that endovascular embolization may be part of the treatment paradigm of frontal osteomas in selected cases. ⋯ Synchronous presentation of a frontal osteoma with mucopyocele is a rare event. However, the case of a recurrent osteoma complicated by infection with M. catarrhalis has not been reported in the literature, nor a treatment paradigm that included preoperative partial endovascular embolization.
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This study sought to report patient characteristics, risk factors, and trends in management for astroblastoma patients. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the largest report of astroblastoma patients described in the literature. Supratentorial tumor location, older age, and treatment prior to 1990 were poor prognostic factors.
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Comparative Study
Minimally invasive versus open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for degenerative spondylolisthesis: comparative effectiveness and cost-utility analysis.
Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF) for lumbar spondylolisthesis allows for the surgical treatment of back/leg pain while minimizing tissue injury and accelerating the patient's recovery. Although previous results have shown shorter hospital stays and decreased intraoperative blood loss for MIS versus open TLIF, short- and long-term outcomes have been similar. Therefore, we performed comparative effectiveness and cost-utility analysis for MIS versus open TLIF. ⋯ MIS TLIF resulted in reduced operative blood loss, hospital stay and 2-year cost, and accelerated return to work. Surgical morbidity, hospital readmission, and short- and long-term clinical effectiveness were similar between MIS and open TLIF. MIS TLIF may represent a valuable and cost-saving advancement from a societal and hospital perspective.