Journal of neurosurgery
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2018
Comparative StudyAnalysis of overlapping surgery in patients undergoing microsurgical aneurysm clipping: acute and long-term outcomes from the Barrow Ruptured Aneurysm Trial.
OBJECTIVE Overlapping surgery is a controversial subject in medicine today; however, few studies have examined the outcomes of this practice. The authors analyzed outcomes of patients with acutely ruptured saccular aneurysms who were treated with microsurgical clipping in a prospectively collected database from the Barrow Ruptured Aneurysm Trial. Acute and long-term outcomes for overlapping versus nonoverlapping cases were compared. ⋯ The mean and median mRS, Glasgow Outcome Scale, Mini-Mental State Examination, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, and Barthel Index scores at all time points were not statistically different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS Compared with nonoverlapping surgery, overlapping surgery was not associated with worse outcomes for any variable at any time point, despite the complexity of the surgical management in this patient population. These findings should be considered during the discussion of future guidelines on the practice of overlapping surgery.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2018
Endoscopic endonasal approach for craniopharyngioma: the importance of the relationship between pituitary stalk and tumor.
OBJECTIVE The endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) is commonly used for the treatment of craniopharyngioma; therefore, it is essential to analyze outcomes in order to understand the benefits and drawbacks. The goal of this paper was to evaluate the clinical features and outcomes associated with this treatment approach. METHODS From July 2010 to March 2016, 82 adult craniopharyngioma patients underwent an EEA at the authors' institution. ⋯ There were 2 (2.9%) cases of recurrence during the mean 30.7-month follow-up period; one patient underwent radiosurgery and the other underwent reoperation. CONCLUSIONS The EEA resulted in excellent surgical outcomes and acceptable morbidity rates, regardless of the anatomical location of the tumor. Invasion of the craniopharyngioma into the center of the pituitary stalk has strong predictive power for postoperative endocrinological outcome.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2018
Multicenter StudyDiagnostic value of preoperative inflammatory markers in patients with glioma: a multicenter cohort study.
OBJECTIVE Glioma is the most common form of brain tumor and has high lethality. The authors of this study aimed to elucidate the efficiency of preoperative inflammatory markers, including neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived NLR (dNLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI), and their paired combinations as tools for the preoperative diagnosis of glioma, with particular interest in its most aggressive form, glioblastoma (GBM). METHODS The medical records of patients newly diagnosed with glioma, acoustic neuroma, meningioma, or nonlesional epilepsy at 3 hospitals between January 2011 and February 2016 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. ⋯ As compared with the Grade I-III glioma patients, the GBM patients had an AUC of 0.811 (95% CI 0.778-0.844) for NLR, 0.797 (0.763-0.832) for dNLR, 0.662 (0.622-0.702) for PLR, 0.743 (0.707-0.779) for LMR, and 0.661(0.622-0.701) for PNI. For the paired combinations, NLR+LMR demonstrated the highest accuracy. CONCLUSIONS The NLR+LMR combination was revealed as a noninvasive biomarker with relatively high sensitivity and specificity for glioma diagnosis, the differential diagnosis of glioma from acoustic neuroma and meningioma, GBM diagnosis, and the differential diagnosis of GBM from low-grade glioma.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2018
Case ReportsEccrine spiradenoma mimicking a painful traumatic neuroma: case report.
Diagnosing and treating patients with persistent neuropathic pain associated with peripheral nerve lesions can be challenging. The authors report the rare case of a painful eccrine spiradenoma treated as a traumatic neuroma for many years because of a history of acute trauma, the presence of a tender palpable mass, and symptoms of allodynia. ⋯ The diagnosis of eccrine spiradenoma was not established until resection and histopathological analysis of the tissue. This case highlights the need to develop and consider an extensive list of differential diagnoses, including eccrine spiradenoma, for peripheral nerve lesions that fail to respond to treatment.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2018
Subdural hematomas in 1846 patients with shunted idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: treatment and long-term survival.
OBJECTIVE Subdural hematoma (SDH) is the most common serious adverse event in patients with shunts. Adjustable shunts are used with increasing frequency and make it possible to noninvasively treat postoperative SDH. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence and treatment preferences of SDHs, based on fixed or adjustable shunt valves, in a national cohort of patients with shunted idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), as well as to evaluate the effect of SDH and treatment on long-term survival. ⋯ There was no difference in long-term patient survival between the SDH and non-SDH groups or between different treatments. CONCLUSIONS SDH remains a common complication after shunt surgery, but adjustable shunts reduced the need for surgical interventions. SDH and treatment did not significantly affect survival in this patient group, thus the noninvasive treatment offered by adjustable shunts considerably reduces the level of severity for this common adverse event.