Neurosurgery
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI): a prospective longitudinal observational study.
Current classification of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is suboptimal, and management is based on weak evidence, with little attempt to personalize treatment. A need exists for new precision medicine and stratified management approaches that incorporate emerging technologies. ⋯ Comparative effectiveness research provides an alternative to reductionistic clinical trials in restricted patient populations by exploiting differences in biology, care, and outcome to support optimal personalized patient management.
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Multicenter Study
Validation of the supplemented Spetzler-Martin grading system for brain arteriovenous malformations in a multicenter cohort of 1009 surgical patients.
The supplementary grading system for brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) was introduced in 2010 as a tool for improving preoperative risk prediction and selecting surgical patients. ⋯ This study validates the predictive accuracy of the SM-Supp system in a multicenter cohort. An SM-Supp grade of 6 is a cutoff or boundary for AVM operability. Supplemented grading is currently the best method of estimating neurological outcomes after AVM surgery, and we recommend it as a starting point in the evaluation of AVM operability.
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Multiple national initiatives seek to curb spending to address increasing healthcare costs in the United States. The Choosing Wisely initiative is a popular initiative that focuses on reducing healthcare spending by setting guidelines to limit tests and procedures requested by patients and ordered by physicians. To reduce spending on neuroimaging, the Choosing Wisely initiative and other organizations have offered guidelines to limit neuroimaging for headaches. ⋯ If adopted by governing or funding organizations, these guidelines threaten to negatively affect the care and outcomes of patients with brain tumors, who frequently present with minimal symptoms or isolated headaches syndromes. As physicians grapple with the difficult conflict between evidence-based cost-cutting guidelines and individualized patient-tailored medicine, they must carefully balance the costs and benefits of discretionary services such as neuroimaging for headaches. By participating in the development of validated clinical decision rules on neuroimaging for headaches, neurosurgeons can advocate for their patients and improve their patients' outcomes.
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Clinical Trial
Outcomes of anterior lumbar interbody fusion surgery based on indication: a prospective study.
There is limited information on clinical outcomes after anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) based on the indications for surgery. ⋯ ALIF is an effective treatment for degenerative disk disease (with and without radiculopathy) and spondylolisthesis. Although results were promising for scoliosis, failed posterior fusion, and adjacent segment disease, further studies are necessary to establish the effectiveness of ALIF in these conditions.
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The endovascular treatment of middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms has been controversial because of the frequency of complex anatomy and the relative ease of surgical clipping in this location. ⋯ Endovascular treatment of MCA aneurysms can be safe and effective. However, it is associated with a high asymptomatic thromboembolic event rate that is more frequent in the setting of acute subarachnoid hemorrhage.