World Neurosurg
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Review Meta Analysis
Safety and Technical Efficacy of Pediatric Brainstem Biopsies: An Updated Meta-Analysis of 1000+ Children.
Brainstem tumors represent ∼10% of pediatric brain tumors, ∼80% of these are diffuse midline glioma. Given invariably poor prognosis in diffuse midline glioma, there continues to be immense variation worldwide in performing biopsy of these lesions. Several contemporary studies in recent years have provided new data to elucidate the safety profile of biopsy and an updated meta-analysis is thus indicated. ⋯ When counseling families on the merits of brainstem biopsy in children, it is reasonable to state that permanent morbidity is rare (<2%). If biopsy is performed specifically to facilitate enrollment in clinical trials requiring a molecular diagnosis, the risks of biopsy outlined here should be weighed against potential benefits of trial enrollment.
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This study examined clinical outcomes associated with 3 types of noncontiguous cervical surgeries - anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA), and hybrid cervical surgery (HCS) - to improve surgeon decision-making. ⋯ There may be no clinically meaningful difference in many clinical outcomes for different non-contiguous surgical interventions for non-contiguous cervical degenerative disc disease (CDDD). However, complication rates, such as dysphagia and ASD, appear higher for non-contiguous ACDF as compared to non-contiguous CDA or HCS.
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Review Case Reports
Extensive Spinal Epidural Abscess: A Systematic Review of Risk Factors, Clinical Presentation, and Management with a Case Illustration.
Extensive spinal epidural abscess (ESEA) is a rare clinical entity subject to delayed diagnosis, which can be explained by the extension of the epidural collection, thereby delaying the mass effect responsible for its clinical manifestations. ⋯ Both single and multilevel laminectomy with abscess drainage for ESEA leads to patient recovery from this devastating condition. Evaluation of the outcome with data on time-to-Nadir and Nadir-to-surgery is needed to codify ESEA management.
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Review Case Reports
Management of recurrent cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea caused by sequential, anatomically separated skull base defects - A case-based systematic review.
Recurrent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea caused by sequential, anatomically separated skull base defects is rarely reported in the literature. Neither management nor etiology has been sufficiently investigated. We present an illustrative case and a systematic review of the literature regarding etiology, diagnostics, and management of this rare phenomenon. ⋯ Occurrence of recurrent CSF rhinorrhea due to an anatomically separated sequential skull base lesion remains a rare phenomenon. Reassessment of imaging studies and a structured diagnostic workup to detect sequential CSF leaks independent of the primary lesion should is recommended.
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Thanks to the proliferation of open-source tools, we are seeing an exponential growth of machine-learning applications, and its integration has become more accessible, particularly for segmentation tools in neuroimaging. ⋯ In short, this article provides a comprehensive framework for accelerating research using machine-learning techniques for image segmentation.