World Neurosurg
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Stepped wedge cluster randomized trials enable rigorous evaluations of health intervention programs in pragmatic settings. In the present study, we aimed to update neurosurgeon scientists on the design of stepped wedge randomized trials. ⋯ Stepped wedge designs can be attractive for study intervention programs aiming to improve the delivery of patient care, especially when examining a small number of heterogeneous clusters.
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The use of three-dimensional (3D) printing in neurosurgery has become more prominent in recent years for surgical training, preoperative planning, and patient education. Several smaller studies are available using 3D printing; however, there is a lack of a concise review. This article provides a systematic review of 3D models in use by neurosurgical residents, with emphasis on training, learning, and simulation. ⋯ 3D printing technology is rapidly expanding in health care and neurosurgery in particular. The technology is quickly improving, and several studies have shown the effectiveness of 3D printing for neurosurgical residency education and training.
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Review
Injury of the thoracolumbar posterior ligamentous complex : a bibliometric literature review.
To conduct a bibliometric review of literature on posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) injury in thoracolumbar trauma to guide future research. ⋯ Our review provides an extensive list of the most historically significant thoracolumbar PLC injury articles, acknowledging key contributions made to the advancement of this research area.
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Meta Analysis
Epidemiological Pattern of Traumatic Brain Injury in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Although the incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) has decreased since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is still evolving, the number of TBI cases has still greatly increased in multiple countries. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluated the epidemiological characteristics of patients with TBI before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Our results have indicated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the TBI mortality rate had increased in low- to middle-income countries. The rate of assault as the cause of TBI had also increased during the pandemic.
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Extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass is a procedure in which a blood vessel outside the skull is connected to one inside the skull to improve cerebral blood flow. Certain aneurysms cannot be treated through standard clipping, and EC-IC bypass may be recommended in such cases. A vast body of literature exists on the use of EC-IC bypass as a treatment for cerebrovascular disorders. While beneficial to surgeons, these publications may not reach all the intended audience, which encourages the use of bibliometric analyses. Although a fraction of historically meaningful publications may not have been sufficiently valued through citation count, bibliometric analysis is the gold standard for assessing the impact of a publication. ⋯ We retrieved the top 50 most-cited articles on EC-IC bypass surgery and identified the landmark publications to provide a foundational understanding of the procedure as a treatment for complex disorders.