Lumbar radiculopathy secondary to primary spinal dural diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Lymphoma of a dural genesis is a distinct variant of primary central nervous system lymphoma and is rare. It putatively has a more benign clinical course. Cranial primary dural lymphoma is more often marginal zone B-cell lymphoma, whereas spinal primary dural lymphoma is most commonly diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.We report a male patient who presented with subacute progressive radiculopathy due to a compressive infiltrative lumbosacral spinal lesion. This was determined to be primary dural diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The radiology, therapeutic considerations and differentiating biological characteristics of primary dural lymphoma, differ from other primary central nervous system lymphomas.Primary dural lymphoma is under-represented in the medical literature. It has unique clinical characteristics. The optimal treatment algorithm remains undefined, but there is some evidence suggesting a benefit of surgical cytoreductive therapy in the first instance, and low-dose radiotherapy may be an effective adjuvant therapy in addition to chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic agents.

Evaluation of readability and reliability of online patient information for intracranial aneurysms.

INTRODUCTION: Intracranial aneurysms are common. Receiving this diagnosis can have a profound impact on patients and their families and this is compounded by the nuanced complexities around their management. An overwhelming majority of patients research health information using the internet. Patient-centred care and informed consent requires patients to have access to information that is readable and reliable. The aim of this study was to assess the readability and reliability of online health information about intracranial aneurysms. METHOD: A Google search was conducted using the terms 'brain aneurysm', 'cerebral aneurysm', and 'intracranial aneurysm' and the first 75 websites were screened for assessment. The readability of each website was assessed using the Flesch reading ease score (FRE), the Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL), the gunning fog index (GFI) and the simple measure of gobbledygook (SMOG) indices. Reliability was assessed using the DISCERN instrument and the Journal of the American Medical Association benchmark criteria (JAMA). RESULTS: Following exclusion, 36 websites were analyzed. The websites collectively scored as 'difficult' readability and 'poor' reliability on average. Statistically significant differences in readability were observed between websites categorized as patient health information and commercial compared with academic and physician. Differences in readability were also observed between search results of 'brain aneurysm' compared with 'intracranial aneurysm'. CONCLUSION: The readability and reliability of online health information about intracranial aneurysms is suboptimal. Health professionals must ensure their patients are well informed which includes directing them to high quality resources which are readable and reliable and use layperson-oriented language during the consultation.

Independent replication of classic trials in neurosurgery: A missing validation practice.

A concerning phenomenon has been identified within the scientific literature. In multiple fields, systematic efforts to replicate peer reviewed studies have been successful in fewer than half of the originals attempted. Currently it is unclear how many influential neurosurgical trials have undergone direct replication. In this study we conducted a publication search to estimate the proportion of classic trials (>400 citations) to have undergone independent direct replication. Published replications would then be assessed for agreement with the original study findings. Our search included all journal articles in the Web of Science written in English and published between 1900 and 2019. This yielded 110 highly-cited trials published in 28 medical journals. Screening of the citation index for these classic studies (113,387 articles) identified 4632 articles to be scrutinised for evidence of replication. Review of these articles did not find any self-identified direct replication studies. This apparent absence of direct replication of classic trials in neurosurgery raises questions about the strength of the evidence base for widespread neurosurgical practices. Direct replication studies must be attempted and published in order to confirm the robustness of influential findings from neurosurgical research.

Spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage: a rare complication of aortic aneurysm endoleak.

We present a rare case of intracerebral haemorrhage secondary to consumptive coagulopathy in relation to ongoing endoleak after thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR). A 68-year-old man underwent elective TEVAR for an 18 cm diameter Crawford type II thoracoabdominal aneurysm. He was subsequently shown to have a type 1b endoleak and a short episode of disseminated intravascularcoagulation (DIC) perioperatively. Two months after the procedure, he experienced a consumptive coagulopathy leading to intracerebral haemorrhage and ultimately his death. Endoleak-related DIC is an underappreciated phenomenon within the medical literature. Currently, management is reliant on general DIC principles and anecdotal experiences of others within the case report literature.

Coding paediatric outpatient data to provide health planners with information on children with chronic conditions and disabilities.

AIM: In New Zealand, there is a paucity of information on children with chronic conditions and disabilities (CCD). One reason is that many are managed in hospital outpatients where diagnostic coding of health-care events does not occur. This study explores the feasibility of coding paediatric outpatient data to provide health planners with information on children with CCD. METHODS: Thirty-seven clinicians from six District Health Boards (DHBs) trialled coding over 12 weeks. In five DHBs, the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Edition, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) and Systematised Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT) were trialled for 6 weeks each. In one DHB, ICD-10-AM was trialled for 12 weeks. A random sample (30%) of ICD-10-AM coded events were also coded by clinical coders. A mix of paper and electronic methods were used. RESULTS: In total 2,604 outpatient events were coded in ICD-10-AM and 693 in SNOMED-CT. Dual coding occurred for 770 (29.6%) ICD-10-AM events. Overall, 34% of ICD-10-AM and 40% of SNOMED-CT events were for developmental and behavioural disorders. Chronic medical conditions were also common. Clinicians were concerned about the workload impacts, particularly for paper-based methods. Coder's were concerned about clinician's adherence to coding guidelines and the poor quality of documentation in some notes. CONCLUSION: Coded outpatient data could provide planners with a rich source of information on children with CCD. However, coding is also resource intensive. Thus its costs need to be weighed against the costs of managing a much larger health budget using very limited information.