Racial, Socioeconomic, and Gender Disparities in the Presentation, Treatment, and Outcomes of Adult Chiari I Malformations.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of race, gender, and socioeconomic factors on presentations and outcomes of adult Chiari I malformations. METHODS: The charts of 638 adult patients with Chiari I malformations were reviewed, and 287 patients were included in the study. Race, gender, insurance status, symptoms, depth of cerebellar tonsillar herniation, and presence of syringomyelia were examined as covariates in multivariate logistic regression models to identify independent predictors of presentation and outcome. RESULTS: Patients with public insurance had a longer stay in the hospital (P = 0.01). A higher proportion of male patients presented with upper extremity weakness (P = 0.01), lower extremity weakness (P = 0.040), and cranial nerve findings (P = 0.02). Men had shorter onset to diagnosis times (P = 0.02), worse tonsillar herniation (P = 0.03), and more severe symptoms (P = 0.05). White patients more frequently presented with back pain (P = 0.03), and African American patients more frequently presented with lower extremity weakness (P = 0.01). African Americans had worse tonsillar herniation (P < 0.01) and were more likely to present with syringomyelia (P = 0.01). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that back pain (P < 0.01), upper extremity weakness (P ≤ 0.01), upper extremity paresthesias (P < 0.01), and upper with lower extremity paresthesias (P = 0.04) were significant predictors of syringomyelia. The only independent predictor of outcome was size of tonsillar herniation (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in presentation of Chiari I malformation resulting from gender, race, and insurance status were quantified for the first time.

Chondromyxoid fibroma invasion of the transverse-sigmoid sinus junction causing posterior fossa hemorrhage.

We report a 50-year-old woman with a chondromyxoid fibroma of the occipital bone, who presented with a cerebellar hemorrhage due to invasion of the adjacent sinus. Chondromyxoid fibromas are benign cartilaginous tumors. However, this case represents the first example, to our knowledge, of a chondromyxoid fibroma invading the transverse-sigmoid junction, resulting in intracranial hemorrhage. Our report highlights that the location of an intracranial chondromyxoid fibroma is an important factor in guiding surgical management.

Laparoscopic excision of an extra-biliary gallbladder duplication cyst in a 9-month-old infant.

Duplication of the gallbladder is a rare congenital anomaly of the biliary system. We herein present a case of a 9-month-old full-term female with a prenatally identified gallbladder duplication cyst managed via laparoscopic excision.

Racial and ethnic disparities in the incidence and mortality from septic shock and respiratory failure among elective neurosurgery patients.

OBJECTIVES: Septic shock (SS) and respiratory failure (RF) are serious complications after neurosurgical procedures. Research is limited in studying racial/ethnic disparities in incidence and mortality of SS and RF. The study aimed to determine the racial variation in incidence and mortality from SS and RF among elective neurosurgical patients in California. METHODS: Data were analyzed from 206 902 admissions of elective neurosurgical patients in California from 2001 to 2009. Variables included race/ethnicity, age, gender, insurance, procedure site, and co-morbidities. We used descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate statistics in SAS v9·3. RESULTS: Septic shock incidence was 0·30/1000/year and case fatality (CF) was 47·7%. Respiratory failure incidence was 4·7/1000/year and CF was 26·2%. Blacks had higher SS and RF (0·6 and 7·9%, respectively) compared to Whites (0·2 and 4·3%, respectively) (Chi-square, P < 0·01). In the adjusted logistic regression model, Blacks had higher odds of SS (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]  =  1·56, 95% CI  =  1·16-2·10) and RF (AOR  =  1·22, 95% CI  =  1·11-1·33) relative to Whites. Although, Blacks had higher mortality from SS (58·9%) and RF (30·1%) compared to Whites (45·2 and 26·4%, respectively; P < 0·05), the AORs were not statistically significant (P > 0·05). DISCUSSION: Blacks had a higher incidence of SS and RF. A higher percentage of black patients died from SS-related mortality, followed by Hispanics, than other groups. The attenuation of differences after statistical adjustment suggests the excess mortality may be due to age, site of the procedures, and having neoplastic disease. Our findings support the need for prospective studies to assess specific pre-operative interventions driven by age and co-morbidities that might reduce the risk of complications after neurosurgical procedures.

Accuracy of intraoperative computed tomography image-guided surgery in placing pedicle and pelvic screws for primary versus revision spine surgery.

OBJECT: Revision spine surgery, which is challenging due to disrupted anatomy, poor fluoroscopic imaging, and altered tactile feedback, may benefit from CT image-guided surgery (CT-IGS). This study evaluates accuracy of CT-IGS-navigated screws in primary versus revision spine surgery. METHODS: Pedicle and pelvic screws placed with the O-arm in 28 primary (313 screws) and 33 revision (429 screws) cases in which institutional postoperative CT scans were available were retrospectively reviewed for placement accuracy. Screw accuracy was categorized as 1) good (< 1-mm pedicle breach in any direction or "in-out-in" thoracic screws through the lateral thoracic pedicle wall and in the costovertebral joint); 2) fair (1- to 3-mm breach); or 3) poor (> 3-mm breach). RESULTS: Use of CT-IGS resulted in high rates of good or fair screws for both primary (98.7%) and revision (98.6%) cases. Rates of good or fair screws were comparable for the following regions: C7-T3 at 100% (good or fair) in primary versus 100% (good or fair) in revision; T4-9 at 96.8% versus 100%; T10-L2 at 98.2% versus 99.3%; L3-5 at 100% versus 99.2%; and pelvis at 98.7% versus 98.6%, respectively. On the other hand, revision sacral screws had statistically significantly lower rates of good placement compared with primary (100% primary vs 80.6% revision, p = 0.027). Of these revision sacral screws, 11.1% had poor placement, with bicortical screws extending > 3 mm beyond the anterior cortex. Revision pelvic screws demonstrated the highest rate of fair placement (28%), with the mode of medial breach in all cases directed into the sacral-iliac joint. CONCLUSIONS: In the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, CT-IGS demonstrated comparable accuracy rates for both primary and revision spine surgery. Use of 3D imaging of the bony pedicle anatomy appears to be sufficient for the spine surgeon to overcome the difficulties associated with instrumentation in revision cases. Although the bony structures of sacral pedicles and pelvis are relatively larger, the complexity of local anatomy was not overcome with CT-IGS, and an increased trend toward inaccurate screw placement was demonstrated.