Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2024
Effect of cranial entry site on the rate of proximal catheter misplacement in ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion.
The insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) is a common neurosurgical procedure, but the optimal entry site of the ventricular catheter is still under debate. In this study, the authors compare the parietal (Keen's) and frontal (Kocher's) entry sites in terms of the rate of revision surgery due to ventricular catheter misplacement, VPS dysfunction, and VPS infection. ⋯ The entry site of the ventricular catheter in VPS surgery does not seem to affect proximal revision rates. Further, revision rates due to VPS dysfunction, VPS infection, and morbidity were comparable as well.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2024
Introducing a novel hybrid educational boot camp to augment medical student training in neurosurgery.
Neurosurgery subinternships are a critical portion of the medical student application to neurosurgery residency programs, allowing programs to assess the student's clinical knowledge, interpersonal skills, work ethic, and character. Despite how critical these auditions are, many students have a poor understanding of expectations prior to beginning these subinternships. Thomas Jefferson University hosted a combined in-person and virtual boot camp session open to all medical students interested in neurosurgery. The authors sought to determine the effectiveness of this inaugural course. ⋯ The boot camp successfully delineated the expectations of neurosurgery subinterns and enhanced the attendees' confidence in their abilities. The authors concluded that a hybrid virtual and in-person format is beneficial and feasible in increasing accessibility to information about neurosurgery subinternships.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2024
Early GFAP and UCH-L1 point-of-care biomarker measurements for the prediction of traumatic brain injury and progression in patients with polytrauma and hemorrhagic shock.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hemorrhage are responsible for the largest proportion of all trauma-related deaths. In polytrauma patients at risk of hemorrhage and TBI, the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of TBI remain poorly characterized. The authors sought to characterize the predictive capabilities of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) measurements in patients with hemorrhagic shock with and without concomitant TBI. ⋯ Early measurements of GFAP and UCH-L1 on a point-of-care device are significantly associated with CT-diagnosed TBI in patients with polytrauma and shock. Early elevated GFAP measurements are associated with worse head CT scan Rotterdam scores, TBI progression, and worse GOSE scores, and these associations are independent of other injury attributes, shock severity, and early resuscitation characteristics.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2024
Analysis of neurosurgery resident research activity in the United States.
Evaluation of the demographic and academic characteristics of current neurosurgery residents may provide prospective students with insight into factors that affect research output. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the research output among neurosurgery residents. ⋯ The authors observed overall high research activity among neurosurgery residents. Factors such as gender, degree, PGY, IMG/AMG status, and medical school rank may therefore be related to the success of matching within neurological surgery. Although large disparities in gender representation have been identified in neurosurgery, newer classes are trending toward shrinking the gap. These data may be used by prospective residents to gauge changes and progress occurring in the neurosurgery match.