Neurosurgery
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Observational Study
Quality of British and American Nationwide Quality of Care and Patient Safety Benchmarking Programs: Case Neurosurgery.
Multiple nationwide outcome registries are utilized for quality benchmarking between institutions and individual surgeons. ⋯ The implemented benchmarking programs in the United Kingdom and United States fail to identify a considerable number of complications in a high-volume center. Health care policy makers should be cautious as outcome comparisons between most centers and individual surgeons are questionable if based on the programs.
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Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a highly effective management approach for patients with vestibular schwannomas (VS), with 10-yr control rates up 98%. When it fails, however, few data are available to guide management. ⋯ Patients with progressing VS after radiosurgery can be safely and effectively managed using a second SRS procedure.
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Observational Study
Sonication Improves Pathogen Detection in Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt-Associated Infections.
Antimicrobial treatment of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt infections is challenging when the causative pathogen is unknown. ⋯ Sonication significantly increases the microbiological yield in VP-shunt infections, especially in patients receiving antibiotics prior to diagnostics and in infections caused by low-virulent organisms. The implementation of sonication into the clinical routine can substantially increase the rate of pathogen detection allowing targeted treatment.
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Immature neurons can extend processes after transplantation in adult animals. Neuronal relays can form between injected neural stem cells (NSCs) and surviving neurons, possibly improving recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Cell delivery methods of single or multiple bolus injections of concentrated cell suspensions thus far tested in preclinical and clinical experiments are suboptimal for new tract formation. Nonuniform injectate dispersal is often seen due to gravitational cell settling and clumping. Multiple injections have additive risks of hemorrhage, parenchymal damage, and cellular reflux and require additional surgical exposure. The deposition of multiply delivered cells boluses may be uneven and discontinuous. ⋯ The TrailmakerTM creates longitudinal cellular trails spanning multiple levels from a single-entry point. This may enhance the ability of therapeutics to promote functional relays after SCI.