World Neurosurg
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Variance between providers in neurosurgery can lead to inefficiencies and poor patient outcomes. Evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) have been developed; however, they have not been well implemented into the clinician workflow. Therefore, clinicians have been left to make decisions with incomplete information. Equally underused are the electronic health records (EHRs), which house enormous amounts of health data, but the power of that "big data" has failed to be capitalized on. ⋯ Variance reduction in neurosurgery through the integration of evidence-based decision support in EHRs will lead to improved patient safety, a reduction in medical errors, maximization of the use of the available data, and enhanced decision-making power for clinicians.
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Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignant tumor of the head and neck, and is associated with high recurrence and low survival rates; however, distant brain metastasis from NPC is rare. ⋯ Despite the poor prognosis, salvage SRS was performed for these rare brain metastases from NPC.
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Vein of Galen malformations (VoGMs) induce cerebrovascular dysfunction through arterial steal and venous hypertension resulting, if untreated, in severe neurologic morbidity and mortality. Noninvasive techniques for quantitative, serial evaluation of cerebrovascular hemodynamics in VoGMs are lacking. This proof of concept study using quantitative blood flow measurements from 4-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging may be useful as a noninvasive biomarker to guide timing of intervention and assess disease progression and treatment outcomes. ⋯ Four-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging/PCVIPR imaging has a potential role in determining endovascular embolization and therapeutic outcomes on the basis of objective and reproducible hemodynamic characteristics of the vascular lesion. It represents a novel, noninvasive approach that may guide the extent and timing of therapeutic intervention and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases in pediatric patients.
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Observational Study
Lower Iron Levels Predict Acute Hydrocephalus Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.
We tested the hypothesis that low serum iron levels are associated with acute hydrocephalus following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). ⋯ Lower serum iron levels after aSAH was a predictor of acute hydrocephalus and unfavorable outcome.
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A subset of patients with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) remains refractory to standard treatment with hematoma drainage by burr-hole craniotomy and irrigation. We recently reported the usefulness of middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization for intractable CSDH in patients with multiple intractable risk factors. We present the midterm outcomes of MMA embolization in patients with intractable CSDHs. ⋯ Despite the known unfavorable outcomes of patients with intractable CSDHs, MMA embolization was not associated with recurrent CSDH or rehospitalization in our department in the current case series. MMA embolization should be considered a preferred therapeutic option for intractable CSDHs.