Oligodendrogliomas tend to infiltrate the frontal aslant tract, whereas astrocytomas tend to displace it.

INTRODUCTION: MR-tractography is increasingly used in neurosurgical practice to evaluate the anatomical relationships between glioma and nearby subcortical tracts. In some patients, the subcortical tracts seem displaced by the glioma, while in other patients, the subcortical tracts seem infiltrated without displacement. At this point, it is unknown whether these different patterns are related to tumor type. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate whether tumor type is related to the spatial tractography pattern of the frontal aslant tract (FAT) in low-grade gliomas (LGGs). METHODS: In 64 IDH-mutated LGG patients, the FAT was generated using a pipeline for automatic tractography. In 41 patients, the glioma adjoined the FAT, and four blinded reviewers independently assessed the following two dichotomous categories (yes/no): (i) glioma displaces the tract, and (ii) glioma infiltrates the tract. RESULTS: Fisher's exact tests demonstrated strong and significant positive associations between displacement and astrocytomas (p = .002, φ = .497) and infiltration and oligodendrogliomas (p = .004, φ = .484). The interobserver agreement was good for both categories: (i) κ = 0.76 and (ii) κ = 0.71. CONCLUSION: High sensitivity but low specificity for displacement in astrocytomas demonstrates that in the case of an astrocytoma, the tract is most likely displaced, but that displacement in itself is not necessarily predictive for astrocytomas, as oligodendrogliomas may both infiltrate and displace a tract. Overall, these results demonstrate that oligodendrogliomas tend to infiltrate the nearby subcortical tract, whereas astrocytomas only tend to displace it.

Outcome in Patients with Isolated Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a major cause of death. Withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) can be initiated if there is little anticipated chance of recovery to an acceptable quality of life. The aim of this study was firstly to investigate WLST rates in patients with moderate to severe isolated TBI and secondly to assess outcome data in the survivor group. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed. Patients aged ≥ 18 years with moderate or severe isolated TBI admitted to the ICU of a single academic hospital between 2011 and 2015 were included. Exclusion criteria were isolated spinal cord injury and referrals to and from other hospitals. Gathered data included demographics, mortality, cause of death, WLST, and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score after three months. Good functional outcome was defined as GOS > 3. RESULTS: Of 367 patients, 179 patients were included after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. 55 died during admission (33%), of whom 45 (82%) after WLST. Patients undergoing WLST were older, had worse neurological performance at presentation, and had more radiological abnormalities than patients without WLST. The decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment was made on the day of admission in 40% of patients. In 33% of these patients, this decision was made while the patient was in the Emergency Department. 71% of survivors had a good functional outcome after three months. No patient left hospital with an unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) or suffered from UWS after three months. One patient died within three months of discharge. CONCLUSION: In-hospital mortality in isolated brain injured patients was 33%. The vast majority died after a decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment. None of the patients were discharged with an unresponsive wakefulness syndrome.

Effect of CTA Tube Current on Spot Sign Detection and Accuracy for Prediction of Intracerebral Hemorrhage Expansion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Reduction of CT tube current is an effective strategy to minimize radiation load. However, tube current is also a major determinant of image quality. We investigated the impact of CTA tube current on spot sign detection and diagnostic performance for intracerebral hemorrhage expansion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a prospectively collected cohort of consecutive patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage from January 2001 to April 2015 who underwent CTA. The study population was divided into 2 groups according to the median CTA tube current level: low current (<350 mA) and high current (≥350 mA). CTA first-pass readings for spot sign presence were independently analyzed by 2 readers. Baseline and follow-up hematoma volumes were assessed by semiautomated computer-assisted volumetric analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of spot sign in predicting hematoma expansion were calculated. RESULTS: This study included 709 patients (288 and 421 in the low- and high-current groups, respectively). A higher proportion of low-current scans identified at least 1 spot sign (20.8% versus 14.7%, P = .034), but hematoma expansion frequency was similar in the 2 groups (18.4% versus 16.2%, P = .434). Sensitivity and positive and negative predictive values were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Conversely, high-current scans showed superior specificity (91% versus 84%, P = .015) and overall accuracy (84% versus 77%, P = .038). CONCLUSIONS: CTA obtained at high levels of tube current showed better diagnostic accuracy for prediction of hematoma expansion by using spot sign. These findings may have implications for future studies using the CTA spot sign to predict hematoma expansion for clinical trials.