Medical Malpractice in Neurosurgery: An Analysis of Claims in the Netherlands.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Studying malpractice claims is important to improve quality of health care and patient safety and to educate the individual healthcare providers. The objective of this study was to describe characteristics of neurosurgical claims in the Netherlands. METHODS: A nationwide retrospective observational study of neurosurgery-related claims closed by Centramed and MediRisk, 2 major insurance companies in the Netherlands, was performed. Relevant data, including type of neurosurgical pathology, theme and category of the claim, type and severity of injury, outcome, and financial burden, were extracted from anonymized claim files. The estimated annual risk was used to determine the risk for claims by adjusting for the number of annually practicing neurosurgeons in the Netherlands. RESULTS: A total of 388 claims against neurosurgeons were closed between 2007 and 2021. Liability was denied in a slight majority of claims (n = 230; 59%). The total burden during this period was €6 165 000 (amount paid out to patients: €5 497 000). The estimated annual risk per Dutch neurosurgeon for a claim was 15.5%, meaning 1 claim per 6.5 years. The case-level analysis of 238 available anonymized claims revealed that most claims were related to spinal pathology (81.5%), followed by cranial pathology (10.9%) and peripheral nerve (7.6%). The motivations for filing claims were mostly related to alleged surgical (56.3%) or diagnostic errors (22.3%). Most of these claims were denied (151/238; 63.4%), and fewer were settled (42/238; 17.6%), sustained (31/238; 13.0%), or closed without final decision (14/238; 5.9%). CONCLUSION: Neurosurgery-related malpractice claims primarily involved spinal pathology and were mostly related to alleged treatment errors. Most claims did not result in compensation because there seemed to be no liability or culpable injury. However, the annual risk for a claim for Dutch neurosurgeons is considerable.

Antifibrinolytic therapy for aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Rebleeding is an important cause of death and disability in people with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. Rebleeding is probably related to the dissolution of the blood clot at the site of the aneurysm rupture by natural fibrinolytic activity. This review is an update of previously published Cochrane Reviews. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of antifibrinolytic treatment in people with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (May 2022), CENTRAL (in the Cochrane Library 2021, Issue 1), MEDLINE (December 2012 to May 2022), and Embase (December 2012 to May 2022). In an effort to identify further published, unpublished, and ongoing studies, we searched reference lists and trial registers, performed forward tracking of relevant references, and contacted drug companies (the latter in previous versions of this review). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials comparing oral or intravenous antifibrinolytic drugs (tranexamic acid, epsilon amino-caproic acid, or an equivalent) with control in people with subarachnoid haemorrhage of suspected or proven aneurysmal cause. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors (MRG & WJD) independently selected trials for inclusion, and extracted the data for the current update. In total, three review authors (MIB & MRG in the previous update; MRG & WJD in the current update) assessed risk of bias. For the primary outcome, we dichotomised the outcome scales into good and poor outcome, with poor outcome defined as death, vegetative state, or (moderate) severe disability, assessed with either the Glasgow Outcome Scale or the Modified Rankin Scale. We assessed death from any cause, rates of rebleeding, delayed cerebral ischaemia, and hydrocephalus per treatment group. We expressed effects as risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We used random-effects models for all analyses. We assessed the quality of the evidence with GRADE. MAIN RESULTS: We included one new trial in this update, for a total of 11 included trials involving 2717 participants. The risk of bias was low in six studies. Five studies were open label, and we rated them at high risk of performance bias. We also rated one of these studies at high risk for attrition and reporting bias.  Five trials reported on poor outcome (death, vegetative state, or (moderate) severe disability), with a pooled risk ratio (RR) of 1.03 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.94 to 1.13; P = 0.53; 5 trials, 2359 participants; high-quality evidence), which showed no difference between groups. All trials reported on death from all causes, which showed no difference between groups, with a pooled RR of 1.02 (95% CI 0.90 to 1.16; P = 0.77; 11 trials, 2717 participants; high-quality evidence). In trials that combined short-term antifibrinolytic treatment (< 72 hours) with preventative measures for delayed cerebral ischaemia, the RR for poor outcome was 0.98 (95% CI 0.81 to 1.18; P = 0.83; 2 trials, 1318 participants; high-quality evidence).  Antifibrinolytic treatment reduced the risk of rebleeding, reported at the end of follow-up (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.91; P = 0.01; 11 trials, 2717 participants; absolute risk reduction 7%, 95% CI 3 to 12%; moderate-quality evidence), but there was heterogeneity (I² = 59%) between the trials. The pooled RR for delayed cerebral ischaemia was 1.27 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.62; P = 0.05; 7 trials, 2484 participants; moderate-quality evidence). However, this effect was less extreme after the implementation of ischaemia preventative measures and < 72 hours of treatment (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.46; P = 0.49; 2 trials, 1318 participants; high-quality evidence). Antifibrinolytic treatment showed no effect on the reported rate of hydrocephalus (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.20; P = 0.09; 6 trials, 1992 participants; high-quality evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The current evidence does not support the routine use of antifibrinolytic drugs in the treatment of people with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. More specifically, early administration with concomitant treatment strategies to prevent delayed cerebral ischaemia does not improve clinical outcome. There is sufficient evidence from multiple randomised controlled trials to incorporate this conclusion in treatment guidelines.

Outcomes following Microvascular Mandibular Reconstruction in Pediatric Patients and Young Adults.

The etiology and treatment of complex mandibular defects in children differ markedly from those of adults, although treatment with free bone flaps is historical in both groups. While adult outcomes and complication rates are well known, few pediatric data exist, especially for patients with congenital deficiencies. This study reports early and late outcomes from a cohort of young, primarily syndromic patients undergoing microvascular mandibular reconstruction. METHODS: This is a retrospective case series of patients who underwent microvascular mandibular reconstruction between 1995 and 2016. RESULTS: Thirteen patients received a total of 13 fibula transfers and 1 medial femoral condyle transfer. Most patients carried a congenital diagnosis (77%), and the average age during surgery was 11.7 ± 5.7 years. The median (interquartile range) [IQR] length of follow-up was 6.3 (5.7) years. There was a 100% flap survival rate, although 86% of all patients experienced at least one complication. Half of all procedures resulted in an early complication. Nine patients (69%) developed late complications, of which temporal mandibular joint ankylosis was the most common (n = 5; 38%). CONCLUSIONS: This study is one of few detailing outcomes following mandibular reconstruction by free flap transfer in pediatric patients. These patients were primarily syndromic with appreciable complication rates higher than in other adult and pediatric studies. Some complications are manageable or self-resolving, but others lead to functional problems that may require late operative interventions to correct. Microsurgical treatment should be reserved for children with large, complex mandibular defects when other options are unavailable or have been exhausted.

Disciplinary law and neurosurgery: a 10-year analysis of cases in the Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: Neurosurgery is historically seen as a high-risk medical specialty, with a large percentage of neurosurgeons facing complaints during their careers. The Dutch medicolegal system is characterized by a strong emphasis on informal mediation, which can be accompanied or followed by disciplinary actions. To determine if this system is associated with a low overall risk for medical litigation through disciplinary law, the authors conducted a review of disciplinary cases involving neurosurgeons in the Netherlands. METHODS: The authors reviewed legal cases that had been filed against consultant neurosurgeons and neurosurgical residents under the Dutch disciplinary law for medical professions between 2009 and 2019. RESULTS: A total of 1322 neurosurgical care-related cases from 2009 to 2019 were reviewed. Fifty-seven (4.3%) cases were filed against neurosurgeons (40 first-instance cases, 17 appeal cases). In total, 123 complaints were filed in the 40 first-instance cases. Most of these cases were related to spine surgery (62.5%), followed by cranial surgery (27.5%), peripheral nerve surgery (7.5%), and pediatric neurosurgery (2.5%). Complaints were filed in all stages of care but were mostly related to preoperative and intraoperative care. CONCLUSIONS: The risk for medically related litigation in neurosurgery in the Netherlands through disciplinary law is low but not negligible. Although the absolute number of cases is low, spinal neurosurgery was found to be a risk factor for complaints. The relatively high number of cases that involved the sharing of information suggests that specific improvements-focusing on communication-can be made in order to lower the risk for future litigation.

Skill in discrete keying sequences is execution rate specific.

The present study tested the hypothesis that in motor sequences, the interval between successive movements is critical for the type of representation that develops. Participants practiced two 7-key sequences in the context of a discrete sequence production (DSP) task. The 0-RSI group practiced these sequences with response stimulus intervals (RSIs) of 0, which is typical for the DSP task, while the long-RSI group practiced the same sequences with unpredictable RSIs between 500 and 2000 ms. The ensuing test phase examined performance of these familiar and of unfamiliar sequences for both groups under both RSI regimes. The results support our hypothesis that the motor chunks that 0-RSI participants developed could not be used with long RSIs, whereas the long-RSI participants developed sequence representations that cannot be used with 0 RSIs. A new, computerized, sequence awareness task showed that long-RSI participants had limited sequence knowledge. The sequencing skill developed by long-RSI participants can, therefore, not have been based on explicit knowledge.