Surg Neurol
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Prevalence of cerebral cavernomas in the general population is close to 0.5%. In contrast, SCCs are rare. The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of SCC in a large sample of patients. ⋯ This study has defined clinical and MR patterns of spinal cavernomas. Surgery lastingly improved more than half of the patients.
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The occurrence of violent trauma has recently increased, and it has become both a social and medical problem in China. We are the first to explore violent head trauma in China. ⋯ Violent head trauma is certainly both a social and medical problem now, which indicates that violence should be controlled and that the human right of social safety needs to be improved in China.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Evaluation of the Miethke dual- switch valve in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus.
Especially in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), conventional differential-pressure valves are known to create nonphysiological negative intraventricular pressure values (IVP) when the patient moves into the upright position, with the consequence of numerous, sometimes severe, complications. The recently presented gravitational devices promise improvement, primarily in respect to this disadvantage. ⋯ The clinical course of patients suffering from NPH is mainly influenced by the stage of the disease, the time of beginning of the therapy, and the gravitational function of the implanted device. Based on our clinical experiences with the Miethke dual-switch valve (MD-SV), we underscore the advantages of this valve for the treatment of hydrocephalus, especially for patients with NPH.
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Multicenter Study
Predictors of mortality in severely head-injured patients with civilian gunshot wounds: a report from the NIH Traumatic Coma Data Bank.
Predictors of outcome were examined in this prospective study of 151 patients severely injured by civilian gunshot wounds. Of the 151 patients, 133 (88%) died. Of the 123 patients with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3-5, 116 (94%) died, whereas of the 20 with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 6-8, 14 (70%) died. ⋯ In those patients who survived long enough for intracranial pressure monitoring, intracranial hypertension predicted a very poor outcome. Computed tomographic scan characteristics such as midline shift, compression or obliteration of the mesencephalic cisterns, the presence of subarachnoid blood, intraventricular hemorrhage, and the presence of hyperdense or mixed-density lesions greater than 15 mL, either bilateral or unilateral, were all associated with a poor outcome. However, neither the caliber of gun nor the distance of the gun from the head significantly affected the risk of dying.