Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Basilar artery occlusion (BAO) remains one of the most devastating subtypes of ischemic stroke, and prognosis is poor if early recanalization is not achieved. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and technical feasibility of mechanical thrombectomy with the Solitaire AB stent (Covidien, Irvine, CA, USA) for the treatment of acute BAO through a single-center experience. Twenty-one patients with acute BAO were treated with mechanical thrombectomy with the Solitaire AB stent device between 1st September 2011 and 1st December 2014. ⋯ At follow-up, the trial of ORG 10172 in acute stroke treatment (TOAST) classification was large-vessel atherosclerosis in 13 patients (61.9%), cardioembolic in seven patients (33.3%), and undetermined in one patient (4.8%). In our series, application of the Solitaire AB stent retriever in acute BAO resulted in a high recanalization rate without procedural complications, and with good clinical outcome. Further prospective trials are needed to confirm the potential clinical benefit of this treatment approach.
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Cohort studies have suggested that the use of statins is associated with decreased risk of glioma formation and mortality. Here, a cohort of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) was analyzed to further investigate associations between preoperative use of statins and recurrence, and progression free and overall survival. Patients who had surgery for GBM (N=284) were followed up for a median of 18.1months. ⋯ Age and dexamethasone use were independent prognostic factors of survival. Contrary to previously published evidence, this study could not find an association between preoperative statin use and longer survival in GBM patients. Due to the small number of patients and retrospective nature of the study, further work is needed to understand the role of perioperative statins in GBM patients.
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We aimed to identify trends in the neurosurgical practice environment in the United States from 2006 to 2013 using the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database, and to determine the complication rate for spinal and cranial procedures and identify risk factors for post-operative complications across this time period. We performed a search of the American College of Surgeons-NSQIP database for all patients undergoing an operation with a surgeon whose primary specialty was neurological surgery from 2006 to 2013. Analysis of patient demographics and pre-operative co-morbidities was performed, and multivariate analysis was used to determine predictors of surgical complications. ⋯ The overall 30-day complication rate among all 94,621 NSQIP reported patients undergoing operations with a neurosurgeon over this time period was 8.2% (5.6% for spinal operations, 16.1% for cranial operations). The overall rate decreased from 11.0% in 2006 to 7.5% in 2013 (p<0.001). Several predictors of post-operative complication were identified on multivariate analysis.
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Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) is an alternative to ventriculoperitoneal shunting for treatment of hydrocephalus. Studies have reported favorable outcomes for up to three-quarters of adult patients. We performed the first ETV outcomes study using an administrative claims database, examining current practice for adult patients in the United States. ⋯ This study represents a longitudinal analysis of nationwide ETV practice over 9years. Success rate in this large cohort is similar to that published by other single-center retrospective studies. Age and geographic variation may be associated with surgeon choice of ETV or shunt placement after failure of the initial ETV.
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The vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) has been shown to provide a safe, albeit costly, treatment for intractable epilepsy. We aimed to analyze the incidence, timing, and clinical/demographic associations of revision surgery post-VNS implantation in epilepsy patients. The Thomson Reuters MarketScan database, containing data from 23-50million individuals, was used. ⋯ Implant-related revision surgeries are rare. Some events occur more often in certain follow-up years than others; none are significantly impacted by age, sex, insurance type, or geographic region. The most common reason for revision was battery replacement several years after VNS placement.