Safety-net versus private hospital setting for brain metastasis patients treated with radiosurgery alone: Disparities in follow-up care and outcomes.

Background: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) alone is an increasingly accepted treatment for brain metastases, but it requires adherence to frequently scheduled follow-up neuroimaging because of the risk of distant brain metastasis. The effect of disparities in access to follow-up care on outcomes after SRS alone is unknown.

Methods: This retrospective study included 153 brain metastasis patients treated consecutively with SRS alone from 2010 through 2016 at an academic medical center and a safety-net hospital (SNH) located in Los Angeles, California.

Decreased mortality in patients with isolated severe blunt traumatic brain injury receiving higher plasma to packed red blood cells transfusion ratios.

Introduction: Higher transfusion ratios of plasma to packed red blood cells (PRBC) and platelets (PLT) to PRBC have been shown to be associated with decreased mortality in major trauma patients. However, little is known about the effect of transfusion ratios on mortality in patients with isolated severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of transfusion ratios on mortality in patients with isolated severe blunt TBI.

Infrared thermal imaging: a review of the literature and case report.

Intraoperative Thermal Imaging (ITI) is a novel neuroimaging technique that can potentially locate the margins of primary and metastatic brain tumors. As a result, the additional real-time anatomical and pathophysiological information may significantly contribute to an improved extent of tumor resection. Our objectives in this article are i) to briefly discuss the current status of intraoperative imaging modalities including ITI and ii) to present a case report that evaluates the usefulness of ITI in detection of brain tumor and its margins.