Surgical neurology international
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The use of multidisciplinary in-hospital teams limits adverse events (AE), improves outcomes, and adds to patient and employee satisfaction. ⋯ Within hospitals, delivering the best medical/surgical care is a "team sport." The goals include: Maximizing patient safety (e.g. limiting AE) and satisfaction, decreasing the LOS, and increasing the quality of outcomes. Added benefits include optimizing healthcare workers' performance, reducing hospital costs/complications, and increasing job satisfaction. This review should remind hospital administrators of the critical need to keep multidisciplinary teams together, so that they can continue to operate their "well-oiled machines" enhancing the quality/safety of patient care, while enabling "staff" to optimize their performance and enhance their job satisfaction.
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The risks of repeat concussions and returning to play (RTP) prior to the resolution of concussive symptoms are medically established. However, RTP guidelines for high school sports are varied and often notably absent. The island of Guam, a US territory, has a robust athletics program but lacks structure to reduce concussions or establish RTP protocols. Consequently, there is an opportunity to limit the incidence of "second-hit syndrome" and other harmful effects through education and testing. ⋯ The feasibility of SCT use in Guam high school football was established and our pilot study identified areas for improvement. Established definitions of concussion and RTP guidelines were lacking. Therefore, an opportunity exists through public health efforts that involve the entire community to increase concussion awareness and reduce injuries in high school sports on Guam.
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Placement of external ventricular drains (EVDs) is a common, life-saving neurosurgical procedure indicated across a variety of settings. While advances have made the procedure quite safe, the potential for iatrogenic morbidity and mortality continues. We document our experience with the endovascular management of three pseudoaneurysms associated with EVD placement and discuss the endovascular treatment options for EVD-associated cerebrovascular injury. ⋯ Although EVD-associated cerebrovascular injury remains a rare phenomenon, such procedures are not entirely benign. Endovascular repair for such lesions proves a viable, effective option.
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A number of smartphone medical apps have recently emerged that may be helpful for the neurosurgical patient, practitioner, and trainee. This study aims to review the current neurosurgery-focused apps available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android platforms as of December 2013. ⋯ There are a number of neurosurgery-themed apps available to all audiences. There was a lack of patient information apps for nonspinal procedures. Most apps did not have enough reviews to evaluate their quality. There was also a lack of oversight to validate the accuracy of medical information provided in these apps.
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There continues to be considerable interest in the use of decompressive craniectomy in the management of neurological emergencies. The procedure is technically straightforward; however, it is becoming increasingly apparent that it is associated with significant complications. One complication that has received relatively little attention is the neurological dysfunction that can occur due to the absence of the bone flap and the subsequent distortion of the brain under the scalp as cerebral swelling subsides. The aim of this narrative review was to examine the literature available regarding the clinical features described, outline the proposed pathophysiology for these clinical manifestations and highlight the implications that this may have for rehabilitation of patients with a large skull defect. ⋯ It is becoming increasingly apparent that certain patients are particularly susceptible to the presence of a large skull defect. The term "Neurological Susceptibility to a Skull Defect" (NSSD) is therefore suggested as a blanket term to describe any neurological change attributable to the absence of cranial coverage.