Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2017
CommentReoperative endoscopic endonasal surgery for residual or recurrent pituitary adenomas.
OBJECTIVE Regrowth of the lesion after surgical removal of pituitary adenomas is uncommon unless subtotal resection was originally achieved in the first surgery. Treatment for recurrent tumor can involve surgery or radiotherapy. Locations of residual tumor may vary based on the original approach. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Endonasal endoscopic reoperation is extremely effective at removing recurrent or residual pituitary adenomas that remain after a prior surgery, and it may be preferable to radiation therapy particularly in symptomatic patients. Achievement of GTR is less common when lateral cavernous sinus invasion is present. The locations of residual/recurrent tumor were more likely sphenoidal and parasellar following a prior microscopic transsphenoidal surgery and sellar following a prior endonasal endoscopic surgery.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2017
Pretreatment growth rate as a predictor of tumor control following Gamma Knife radiosurgery for sporadic vestibular schwannoma.
OBJECTIVE Over the last 30 years, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has become an established noninvasive treatment alternative for small- to medium-sized vestibular schwannoma (VS). This study aims to further define long-term SRS tumor control in patients with documented pretreatment tumor growth for whom conservative observation failed. METHODS A prospective clinical database was queried, and patients with sporadic VS who elected initial observation and subsequently underwent SRS after documented tumor growth between 2004 and 2014 were identified. ⋯ No other analyzed variables were found to predict tumor growth following SRS. CONCLUSIONS Overall, SRS administered using a marginal dose between 12-14 Gy is highly effective in treating VSs in which initial observation fails. Tumor control is achieved in 97% of VSs that exhibit slow (< 2.5 mm/year) pretreatment growth; however, SRS is less successful in treating tumors exhibiting rapid growth (≥ 2.5 mm/year).
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2017
Observational StudyQuantitative evaluation of vision-related and health-related quality of life after endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma.
OBJECTIVE Endoscopic resection of pituitary adenomas has been reported to improve vision function in up to 80%-90% of patients with visual impairment due to these adenomas. It is unclear how these reported rates translate into improvement in visual outcomes and general health as perceived by the patients. The authors evaluated self-assessed health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) and vision-related QOL (VR-QOL) in patients before and after endoscopic resection of pituitary adenomas. ⋯ All patients noted that their ability to work or perform activities of daily living was transiently reduced 6 weeks postoperatively, followed by significant improvement by 6 months after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS Both VR-QOL and patient's perceptions of their ability to do work and perform other daily activities as a result of their physical health significantly improved by 6 months after endoscopic resection of pituitary adenoma. The use of multidimensional QOL questionnaires provides a precise assessment of perceived outcomes after endoscopic surgery.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2017
Meta AnalysisEffect of statin treatment on vasospasm-related morbidity and functional outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
OBJECTIVE The efficacy of statin therapy in treating aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains controversial. In this meta-analysis, the authors investigated whether statin treatment significantly reduced the incidence of cerebral vasospasm and delayed neurological deficits, promoting a better outcome after aneurysmal SAH. METHODS A literature search of the PubMed, Ovid, and Cochrane Library databases was performed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies investigating the effect of statin treatment. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Treatment with statins significantly decreased the occurrence of vasospasm after aneurysmal SAH. The incidence of DIND, delayed cerebral infarction, and mortality were not affected by statin treatment. Future research should focus on DIND and how statins influence DIND.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2017
Observational StudyPlasma D-dimer may predict poor functional outcomes through systemic complications after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
OBJECTIVE Plasma D-dimer levels elevate during acute stages of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and are associated with poor functional outcomes. However, the mechanism in which D-dimer elevation on admission affects functional outcomes remains unknown. The aim of this study is to clarify whether D-dimer levels on admission are correlated with systemic complications after aneurysmal SAH, and to investigate their additive predictive value on conventional risk factors for poor functional outcomes. ⋯ D-dimer elevation was an independent risk factor of poor functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale Score 3-6, OR 1.50 [95% CI 1.15-1.95], p = 0.003). A novel prediction model with D-dimer had significantly better discrimination ability for poor outcomes than conventional models without D-dimer. CONCLUSIONS Elevated D-dimer levels on admission were independently correlated with systemic complication, and had an additive value for outcome prediction on conventional risk factors after aneurysmal SAH.