The COVID-19 Pandemic and Elective Spine Surgery-A Single Center Experience.

Background and objective: The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on medical practice worldwide. In this study, we aimed to investigate the trends of elective spine surgery in our department before and during the pandemic. Materials and methods: Total number of spine procedures due to disc herniation (DH) or spinal stenosis (SS) was collected during 2019-2021 in the Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Center Osijek, Croatia. In order to elucidate potential risk factors in the post-pandemic period, demographic data were collected for patients who underwent surgery during 2021. Results: In 2020, there was a 22.1% decrease in the number of surgeries compared to 2019 (205 vs. 263), but during 2021 we observed an increase of 36.1% compared to 2020 (279 vs. 205). The mean age of patients in 2021 was 53.14 years (53.14 ± 13.05) with body mass index of 28.31 kg/m2 (28.31 ± 4.89). There were 179 overweight patients (74%) and 103 smokers (42.6%). Although male and female patients were equally represented (121 each), there was a significant interaction of weight class and sex (p = 0.013). Patients younger than 65 were more likely to undergo surgery due to DH (p < 0.001), whereas older patients were more likely to suffer from SS (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The volume of elective spine surgeries decreased in the first year of the pandemic and increased the following year. Our results suggest that public health policies in the early pandemic period reduced elective surgical procedures, which was followed by a compensatory increase in the following period.

Personalized Treatment of Glioblastoma: Current State and Future Perspective.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive glial tumor of the central nervous system. Despite intense scientific efforts, patients diagnosed with GBM and treated with the current standard of care have a median survival of only 15 months. Patients are initially treated by a neurosurgeon with the goal of maximal safe resection of the tumor. Obtaining tissue samples during surgery is indispensable for the diagnosis of GBM. Technological improvements, such as navigation systems and intraoperative monitoring, significantly advanced the possibility of safe gross tumor resection. Usually within six weeks after the surgery, concomitant radiotherapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide are initiated. However, current radiotherapy regimens are based on population-level studies and could also be improved. Implementing artificial intelligence in radiotherapy planning might be used to individualize treatment plans. Furthermore, detailed genetic and molecular markers of the tumor could provide patient-tailored immunochemotherapy. In this article, we review current standard of care and possibilities of personalizing these treatments. Additionally, we discuss novel individualized therapeutic options with encouraging results. Due to inherent heterogeneity of GBM, applying patient-tailored treatment could significantly prolong survival of these patients.

MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry of High-Grade Gliomas: A Review of Recent Progress and Future Perspective.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignancy of the brain with a relatively short median survival and high mortality. Advanced age, high socioeconomic status, exposure to ionizing radiation, and other factors have been correlated with an increased incidence of GBM, while female sex hormones, history of allergies, and frequent use of specific drugs might exert protective effects against this disease. However, none of these explain the pathogenesis of GBM. The most recent WHO classification of CNS tumors classifies neoplasms based on their histopathological and molecular characteristics. Modern laboratory techniques, such as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging mass spectrometry, enable the comprehensive metabolic analysis of the tissue sample. MALDI imaging is able to characterize the spatial distribution of a wide array of biomolecules in a sample, in combination with histological features, without sacrificing the tissue integrity. In this review, we first provide an overview of GBM epidemiology, risk, and protective factors, as well as the recent WHO classification of CNS tumors. We then provide an overview of mass spectrometry workflow, with a focus on MALDI imaging, and recent advances in cancer research. Finally, we conclude the review with studies of GBM that utilized MALDI imaging and offer our perspective on future research.

Telemedicine in Neurosurgical Trauma during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single-Center Experience.

Telemedicine is a rapid tool that reduces the time until treatment for patients, which is especially useful for neurosurgical trauma. The aim of our study was to evaluate the use of telemedicine in neurosurgery during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic era. We assessed the utilization of telemedicine at the Department of Neurosurgery at University Hospital Center Osijek in Croatia over a timespan of one year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the first year of the pandemic, starting with the date of first lockdown in Croatia. For each time period, the total number of consults and specific clinical inquiries were recorded and adequately grouped as well as comprehensive patient characteristics. There were 336 consults in the pre-pandemic period and 504 in the pandemic period. The number of trauma-related consults during COVID-19 measures was significantly higher than the pre-pandemic era (288 and 138, respectively, p < 0.0001). Neurosurgical trauma patients requiring consults in the pandemic period were significantly older than before the pandemic (64.9 ± 18.5 and 60.6 ± 19.1, respectively, p = 0.03). Significantly, the number of admissions to our center and urgent surgeries did not significantly differ between these periods. Telemedicine is a cost-effective tool in the neurosurgical evaluation of patients, especially for trauma. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine implementation and improved neurosurgical trauma treatments.