Neurosurgery
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Stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG) is a minimally invasive neurosurgical method to localize epileptogenic brain regions in epilepsy but requires days in the hospital with interventions to trigger several seizures. ⋯ Our study represents a preliminary step towards defining resting-state SEEG functional connectivity patterns to help localize epileptogenic brain regions ahead of neurosurgical treatment without requiring seizure recordings.
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No prior reports have focused on the natural history and long-term outcomes of intramedullary spinal cord cavernous malformations (ISCCMs) in children. ⋯ The annual overt hemorrhage rate and rehemorrhage rate of ISCCMs were higher in affected children than in affected adults. Surgical resection of pediatric ISCCMs remains the preferred therapeutic option and provides favorable outcomes.
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Prescription opioid use and opioid-related deaths have become an epidemic in the United States, leading to devastating economic and health ramifications. Opioids are the most commonly prescribed drug class to treat low back pain, despite the limited body of evidence supporting their efficacy. Furthermore, preoperative opioid use prior to spine surgery has been reported to range from 20% to over 70%, with nearly 20% of this population being opioid dependent. ⋯ There is an urgent and unmet need to find and apply extensive perioperative solutions to combat opioid use, particularly in patients undergoing spine surgery. Further investigations are necessary to determine the optimal method to treat such patients and to develop opioid-combative strategies in patients undergoing spine surgery.
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Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is most commonly caused by a ruptured vascular lesion. A significant number of patients presenting with SAH have no identifiable cause despite extensive cerebrovascular imaging at presentation. Significant neurological morbidity or mortality can result from misdiagnosis of aneurysm. ⋯ We show for the first time that the Hijdra score, in addition to other factors, may assist in identifying patients at risk for aneurysm on cerebrovascular imaging. A simple scoring tool based on patient sex, SAH location, and SAH burden can assist in predicting the presence of an aneurysm in patients with nontraumatic SAH.