World Neurosurg
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Comparative Study
Assessing the Role of Preoperative Embolization in the Surgical Management of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations.
Preoperative embolization is established as an advantageous adjunct in multimodality treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). However, the benefit of preoperative embolization in AVMs with favorable surgical risk profile is debatable, because it has yet to be supported by evidence in comparative studies. In this study, we assessed outcome of surgically treated patients in a comparative setting. ⋯ Our data do not support substantial benefit of preoperative embolization for patients with a favorable surgical risk profile. Because of risks and costs with this intervention, the prudent use of preoperative embolization should be individually considered.
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Comparative Study
Maximizing Interhospital Transfer Resources for Neurosurgical Patients.
Delays in patient transfers are associated with worse outcomes for some neurosurgical conditions. One of the primary causes of transfer delay is lack of neurosurgery intensive care unit bed availability. In the present study, we characterize the results of implementing an interhospital transfer protocol to reduce unnecessary transfers and improve bed availability. ⋯ The transfer protocol implemented in the present study allowed transfer determination based on the need for specialized neurosurgical care rather than chance unavailability of beds. Developing interhospital transfer protocols may be an effective strategy to efficiently allocate limited hospital resources and improve transfer systems.
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Prognostic factors for the disease course of patients with spondylodiscitis have not been well studied. ⋯ Compared with MRI, CT imaging parameters have a higher prognostic value regarding the disease course. Patients infected with low-virulence bacteria and atypical MRI findings are at higher risk for poor clinical outcome and thus warrant closer monitoring.
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Case Reports
Intracranial Blood Flow Changes in Patients with High-grade Severe Carotid Artery Stenosis after Stenting.
We investigated whether the cerebral hemodynamic changes of pre- and poststenting in patients with severe carotid stenosis differ by stenosis grades. ⋯ The improvement of brain perfusion combined with the normalization of collateral flow through the circle of Willis after CAS was observed only in patients with HGSS.
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Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is a safe and effective treatment for hydrocephalus. An entry point located 4 cm anterior to the coronal suture, 3 cm anterior to Kocher point, and approximately 9 cm from the pupil at the midpupillary line has been used successfully for the last 20 years in our center. We aimed to evaluate this alternative anterior entry point routinely used for ETV, with or without concurrent endoscopic biopsy. ⋯ The anterior entry point is a safe and effective method for ETV, especially when considering concurrent ventricular tumor biopsy. This entry point may be considered as a more minimally invasive procedure when using rigid endoscopy and may also eliminate the need for a flexible scope.