Cost Analysis of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Compared with Warfarin in Patients with Blunt Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhages.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are rapidly gaining popularity as alternatives to warfarin in the prevention of stroke or systemic embolic events because of the simplicity of their dosing and lack of monitoring requirement. Many physicians feared that these novel agents would be cost-prohibitive not only in their administration but also in their sequelae of bleeding, given the few reversal agents available. Whereas the medication itself is more expensive than traditional warfarin, the total cost of a hospital admission has not been compared between patients on DOACs and warfarin who have sustained a blunt traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH).

Is a stepdown unit safe for patients with mild traumatic intracranial hemorrhages?

Purpose: Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a major source of disability in the United States. The ideal unit in the hospital for patients with mild traumatic intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs) has not been elucidated. We sought to investigate whether patients treated in the surgical stepdown area had worse outcomes than those treated in the surgical ICU.

Readmissions in Patients with Anticoagulated Intracranial Hemorrhage: A Retrospective Review.

Objective: To determine the effect of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) compared with warfarin on the 30-day readmission rates in patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients from our hospital's trauma database admitted between June 2011 and October 2015 to our level II trauma center after sustaining a traumatic ICH while receiving anticoagulant therapy. Patients were stratified based on the anticoagulation drug (DOAC or warfarin) prescribed on admission.

Effect of spinal disease on successful arthrodesis in lumbar pedicle screw fixation.

Object: Pedicle screw fixation with transverse process fusion has gained widespread acceptance since its inception. Improved rates of arthrodesis have been demonstrated when this technique is used. The authors present one of the largest series of patients to undergo this procedure at a single center; one of the goals was to correlate construct length and spinal disease with rates of successful arthrodesis by conducting a prospective analysis of lumbar fusion in which pedicle screws were placed.