Neurosurgery
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Neurological deterioration and mortality are frequent in neurosurgical patients transferred to tertiary centers, but the precise predictors leading to them are unclear. ⋯ Neurosurgery patients are vulnerable to deterioration in transit and exhibit several patterns predictive of mortality. Hydrocephalus, use of clopidogrel and warfarin, and intracerebral hemorrhage are each independently associated with elevated risk of deterioration and death.
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Cost effectiveness has become an important factor in the health care system, requiring surgeons to improve efficacy of procedures while reducing costs. An awake craniotomy (AC) with direct cortical stimulation (DCS) presents one method to resect eloquent region tumors; however, some authors assert that this procedure is an expensive alternative to surgery under general anesthesia (GA) with neuromonitoring. ⋯ The total inpatient costs for awake craniotomies were lower than surgery under GA. This study suggests better cost effectiveness and neurological outcome with awake craniotomies for perirolandic gliomas.
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Spinal surgery costs vary significantly across hospitals and regions, but there is insufficient understanding of what drives this variation. ⋯ After adjusting for patient factors and wage index, the Western region, hospitals with smaller bed sizes, and rural/urban nonteaching hospitals were associated with higher costs for lumbar laminectomy/discectomy and lumbar fusion.
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A substantial body of evidence suggests that cytoreductive surgery is a prerequisite to prolonging survival in patients with glioblastoma (GBM). ⋯ The subpial technique extends the resection beyond the contrast enhancement and is associated with an overall survival beyond that seen in similar series where resection of the enhancement portion is performed. The effect of supratotal resection on survival exceeded the effects of age, Karnofsky performance score, and tumor volume. A prospective study would help to quantify the impact of the subpial technique on quality of life and survival as compared to a traditional resection limited to the enhancing tumor.
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Spinal intradural arachnoid cysts are rare causes of radiculopathy or myelopathy. Treatment options include resection, fenestration, or cyst drainage. ⋯ Complete or partial resection leads to favorable short- and long-term results for primary arachnoid cysts. For secondary cysts, surgery can only provide clinical stabilization for a limited time due to the often extensive arachnoiditis.