World Neurosurg
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The 2021 U.S. neurosurgery residency match interviews were conducted virtually; we surveyed applicants and interviewers to determine satisfaction with that virtual interview process. Subsequently, we conducted a follow-up survey to determine satisfaction with the virtual interview process after the residency match for faculty interviewers and 2022 interns. ⋯ Virtual interviews offer an advantage in terms of time and cost but potentially at the expense of adequate faculty assessment of candidates' "fit" within a program's culture. Despite this, interns undergoing an all-virtual interview process report high satisfaction with the results of the residency match.
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To investigate antiseizure medication (ASM) practice behavior for patients who present with seizures before meningioma resection and to review postoperative ASM management. ⋯ Approximately two thirds (68%) of patients who underwent surgical resection of meningioma were eventually able to completely discontinue their postoperative ASM regimen. However, nearly one third (32%) of patients required long-term ASM management. Levetiracetam monotherapy was the most common ASM prescribed during the postoperative period, and the proportion of patients requiring either higher doses of levetiracetam or alternative ASMs increased over time.
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Case Reports
Concomitant thoracic spinal dural arteriovenous fistula and spinal cavernous malformation.
Both spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) and spinal cavernous malformation (SCM) are uncommon vascular malformations. To our knowledge, such a case of SDAVF concomitant with SCM has not been reported. We encountered a case of a 55-year-old man who had weakness and numbness in both lower extremities. ⋯ Diagnostic angiography revealed an SDAVF fed by the right T7 radicular artery with venous drainage. The intramedullary venous hypertension due to fistula was suspected of inducing the formation of SCM. This case may provide new insight into the pathogenesis of SCM.
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Observational Study
Cost Associated with Geriatric TBI in Developing Countries: An Observational Study.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the geriatric population is a serious public health problem and has a huge impact on mortality and morbidity. ⋯ This study provides the first estimates of the financial burden of Geriatric TBI in the region, which signifies the importance of developing strategies to prevent TBIs and help in resource allocation and healthcare policy formation.
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Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) for Parkinson's disease can be performed with intraoperative neurophysiological and radiographic guidance. Conventional T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging sequences, however, often fail to provide definitive borders of the STN. Novel magnetic resonance imaging sequences, such as susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), might better localize the STN borders and facilitate radiographic targeting. We compared the radiographic location of the dorsal and ventral borders of the STN using SWI with intraoperative microelectrode recording (MER) during awake STN-DBS for Parkinson's disease. ⋯ MER might continue to have a role in STN-DBS. This could potentially be mitigated by further refinement of imaging protocols to better image the ventral boundary of the STN.