Contralateral interhemispheric transfalcine approach to precuneal glioblastoma: fluorescein guided microsurgical resection and endoscopic microinspection tool.

Maximum safe resection remains a primary goal in the treatment of glioblastoma, with gross-total resection conveying additional survival benefit. Multiple intraoperative visualization techniques have been developed to improve the extent of resection. Herein, the authors describe the use of fluorescein and endoscopic assistance with a novel microinspection device in achieving a gross-total resection of a deep seated precuneal glioblastoma. An interhemispheric transfalcine approach was utilized and microsurgical resection was completed with fluorescein guidance. A 45° endoscope was then used to inspect the resection bed, and remaining areas of concern were then resected under endoscopic visualization. The video can be found here: https://stream.cadmore.media/r10.3171/2021.10.FOCVID21195.

Differential Patterns of Referral to Neurosurgery: A Comparison of Allopathic Physicians, Osteopathic Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Chiropractors.

BACKGROUND: Rising cost and limited resources remain major challenges to U.S. health care and neurosurgery in particular. To ensure an efficient and cost-effective health care system, it is important that referrals to neurosurgery clinics are appropriate, and that referred patients have a reasonably high probability of requiring surgical intervention or, at a minimum, ongoing neurosurgical follow-up. This retrospective study tests the null hypothesis that the probability of a referred patient requiring surgery is independent of referring provider credentials and referring service specialty. METHODS: A database of all patients referred to the neurosurgery clinic from 2015 through 2018 (n = 5677) was reviewed; the database included referring provider, referring provider specialty, number of subsequent clinic visits, and outcome of surgery or no surgery. Associations between categorical variables were tested using a χ2 analysis with post hoc relative risk (RR) calculations and binary logistical regression. RESULTS: Compared with patients referred by allopathic physicians, patients referred by osteopathic physicians (RR, 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48-0.84) and those referred by nurse practitioners (RR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.51-0.86) were significantly less likely to require surgery. Probability of surgical intervention also varied by referrer specialty. Patients referred by neurologists required surgery 35% of the time, whereas patients referred by family practitioners required surgery 19% of the time, and patients referred by pediatricians required surgery only 7% of the time (P < 0.01). Binary logistic regression revealed that referrals from nurse practitioners and osteopathic physicians were independently associated with a decreased probability of surgical intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Our data strengthen the concept of having interdisciplinary teams led by physicians at the primary care level to ensure appropriate referrals. Training and adherence to guidelines must continually be reinforced to ensure proper referrals.

Pseudarthrosis failures of anterior subaxial cervical spine fusion using a plate with a single screw per vertebral body: a case series.

INTRODUCTION: The UNIPLATE was developed to improve operative times and limit dissection at the lateral margins of the vertebral bodies. The distinguishing character of this plate is its thin design, which requires only one screw per vertebral level (monovertebral screw plate). Most cervical spine plates, in contrast, are designed for two screws per vertebral level (bivertebral screw plate). Limited reports of the biomechanical efficacy of the UNIPLATE are available, and to the authors' knowledge, this report represents the largest clinical study of its use. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart-review study of consecutively treated patients without previous cervical spine surgery undergoing anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion at one or two levels. The primary end point was symptomatic pseudarthrosis requiring revision surgery. Pseudarthrosis is defined as a failure of bony fusion on the operated level seen on thin-cut computed tomography scans performed on symptomatic patients. The rate of revision surgery caused by symptomatic pseudarthrosis was compared between patients undergoing one- and two-level fusion surgeries treated with UNIPLATE compared with other plates with two screws per vertebral level. The minimum follow-up was 18 months. RESULTS: A total of 162 patients were identified, including 125 patients with one-level fusion and 37 patients with two-level fusion surgery. The median follow-up period was 3.3 years. A significantly greater incidence (odds ratio 10.2, P = 0.042) of reoperation for symptomatic pseudarthrosis was noted for patients treated with the UNIPLATE (4 of 13, 31%) compared with patients treated with bivertebral screw plates (1 of 24, 2.5%). No significant difference in reoperation attributable to symptomatic pseudarthrosis was noted for different plating systems for one-level fusion surgeries. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increased rate of reoperation for symptomatic pseudarthrosis after anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion surgery with the use of a monovertebral screw semiconstrained plate, particularly in two-level fusion surgeries. Use of the UNIPLATE system has since been abandoned at our institution in favor of bivertebral screw plating systems.

Severe hypokalemia in a patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Hypokalemia is a common electrolyte disorder in the intensive care unit. Its cause often is complex, involving both potassium losses from the body and shifts of potassium into cells. We present a case of severe hypokalemia of sudden onset in a patient being treated for subarachnoid hemorrhage in the surgical intensive care unit in order to illustrate the diagnosis and management of severe hypokalemia of unclear cause. Our patient received agents that promote renal potassium losses and treatments associated with a shift of potassium into cells. We outline the steps in diagnosis and management, focusing on the factors regulating the transcellular distribution of potassium in the body.

Chronic subdural hematoma: a sentinel health event.

OBJECTIVE: To propose that chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) should be conceived as a sentinel event in elderly patients and offer an analysis of long-term survival after diagnosis. METHODS: A retrospective review of 301 consecutive patients ≥55 years old admitted to an academic medical center with a primary diagnosis of CSDH between January 1996 and January 2010 was performed. The effects of advanced age and surgical intervention on survival were independently assessed. These groups were compared with standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) on the basis of patient age at time of presentation. RESULTS: Mortality after diagnosis of CSDH increases with increased age at presentation. For all patients, the median survival was roughly 4 years after diagnosis (4.0 years ± 0.5). Median survival is decreased with older age at presentation, to a nadir of 1.5 years ± 0.6 for patients ≥85 years old (P = 0.0003, log-rank test). Compared with the reference data from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 1-year SMR was increased in all age groups. An asymmetric increase in SMR was seen between age groups, with the greatest effect on the youngest subpopulation (SMR 2.9). CONCLUSIONS: The increased mortality rates in patients with CSDHs relative to standardized mortality data corroborate the conception of subdural hematoma as a sentinel health event.

Trends in neurosurgical complication rates at teaching vs nonteaching hospitals following duty-hour restrictions.

BACKGROUND: In 2003 the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education implemented duty-hour restrictions for residents, with an unclear impact on patient care. OBJECTIVE: The authors hypothesize that implementation of duty-hour restrictions is not associated with decreased morbidity for neurosurgical patients. This hypothesis was tested with the Nationwide Inpatient Sample to examine inpatient complications associated with a common elective procedure, craniotomy for meningioma. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was queried for all patients admitted for elective craniotomy for meningioma from 1998 to 2008, excluding the year 2003. Each case was queried for common in-hospital postoperative complications. The complication rate was compared for 5-year epochs at teaching and nonteaching hospitals before (1998-2002) and after (2004-2008) the adoption of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work-hour restriction. Multivariate analysis was performed to control for the effects of age and medical comorbidities. RESULTS: We identified 21177 patients who met inclusion criteria. We identified an effect of age, preexisting medical comorbidity, and timing of surgery on postoperative complication rates. At teaching hospitals, the complication rate increased from 14% to 16% (P < .001). In contrast, this increase was not mirrored at nonteaching hospitals, which saw a nearly constant postoperative complication rate of 15% from 1998 to 2002 and 15% for the years 2004 to 2008 (P = .979). This effect remained significant in a multivariate analysis including age and existing comorbidities as covariates (P = .016). CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing craniotomy for meningioma, postoperative complication rates increased at teaching hospitals, but not at nonteaching hospitals over the 5-year epochs before and after 2003.

Increased rate of complications on a neurological surgery service after implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work-hour restriction.

OBJECT: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education instituted mandatory 80-hour work-week limitations in July 2003. The work-hour restriction was met with skepticism among the academic neurosurgery community and is thought to represent a barrier to teaching, ultimately compromising patient care. The authors hypothesize that the introduction of the mandatory resident work-hour restriction corresponds with an overall increase in morbidity rate. METHODS: This study compares the morbidity and mortality rates on an academic neurological surgery service before and after institution of the work-hour restriction. Complications are individually assessed at a monthly divisional conference by neurosurgical faculty and residents. A prospective database was commenced in July 2000 recording all complications, complications that were deemed to be potentially avoidable ("possibly preventable"), and complications that were deemed unavoidable. The incidence of morbidity and mortality from July 2000 to June 2003 is compared with the incidence from July 2003 to June 2006. RESULTS: The overall rate of morbidity and mortality increased from 103 to 114 per 1000 patients treated after institution of the work-hour restriction, although this increase was not statistically significant (χ(2)(1, N = 8546) = 2.6, p = 0.106). The morbidity rate increased from 70 to 89 per 1000 patients treated after institution of the work-hour restriction (χ(2)(1, N = 8546) = 10, p = 0.001). The overall mortality rate was diminished from 32 to 27 per 1000 patients treated after institution of the work-hour restriction (χ(2)(1, N = 8546) = 3.2, p = 0.075). Morbidities considered avoidable or possibly preventable were seen to increase from 56 to 66 per 1000 patients treated (χ(2)(1, N = 8546) = 5.7, p = 0.017). Avoidable or possibly preventable mortalities numbered 3 per 1000 patients treated, and this rate did not change after introduction of the work-hour restriction (χ(2)(1, N = 8546) = 0.08, p = 0.777). CONCLUSIONS: The morbidity rate on a neurological surgery service is increased after implementation of the work-hour restriction. Mortality rates remain unchanged.

Safety of microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia in the elderly. Clinical article.

OBJECT: Microvascular decompression (MVD) offers an effective and durable treatment for patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Because the disorder has a tendency to occur in older persons, the risks of surgical treatment in the elderly have been a topic of recent interest. To date, evidence derived from several small retrospective and a single prospective case series has suggested that age does not increase the complication rate associated with surgery. Using a large national database, the authors aimed to study the impact of age on in-hospital complications following MVD for TN. METHODS: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for the 10-year period from 1999 to 2008, the authors selected all patients who underwent MVD for TN. The primary outcome of interest was the in-hospital mortality rate. Secondary outcomes of interest were cardiac, pulmonary, thromboembolic, cerebrovascular, and wound complications as well as the duration of hospital stay, total hospital charges, and discharge location. An elderly cohort of patients was first defined as those 65 years of age and older and then redefined as those 75 years and older. RESULTS: A total of 3273 patients who underwent MVD for TN were identified, having a median age of 57 years. Within this sample, 31.5% were 65 years and older and 10.7% were 75 years and older. The in-hospital mortality rate was 0.68% for patients 65 years or older (p = 0.0087) and 1.16% for those 75 years or older (p = 0.0026). In patients younger than 65 years, the in-hospital mortality rate was 0.13% (3 deaths among 2241 patients). As analyzed using the chi-square test (for both 65 and 75 years as the age cutoff) and the Pearson rank correlation coefficient, the risk of cardiac, pulmonary, thromboembolic, and cerebrovascular complications was higher in older patients (that is, those 65 and older and those 75 and older), but the risks of wound complications and CNS infection were not. The risk of any in-hospital complication occurring in a patient 65 years and older was 7.36% (p < 0.0001) and 10.0% in those 75 years and older (p < 0.0001). There was no difference in the total hospital charges associated with age. The duration of the hospital stay was longer in older patients, and the likelihood of discharge home was lower in older patients. CONCLUSIONS: Microvascular decompression for TN in the elderly population remains a reasonable surgical option. However, based on data from a large national database, authors of the present study suggest that complications do tend to gradually increase in tandem with an advanced age. While age does not act as a risk factor in isolation, it may serve as a convenient surrogate for complication rates. The authors hope that this information can be of use in guiding older patients through decisions for the surgical treatment of TN.