Publications by authors named "Julia Duvall"
Background And Objectives: Health care providers' exposure to global surgical disparities is limited in current nursing and/or medical school curricula. For instance, global health is often associated with infectious diseases or maternal health without acknowledging the growing need for surgical care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We propose an international virtual hackathon based on neurosurgical patient cases in under-resourced settings as an educational tool to bring awareness to global surgical disparities and develop relationships among trainees in different countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Racial disparities are ubiquitous across medicine in the US. This study aims to assess the evidence of racial disparities within neurosurgery and across its subspecialties, with a specific goal of quantifying the distribution of articles devoted to either identifying, understanding, or reducing disparities.
Methods: The authors searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus databases by using keywords to represent the concepts of neurosurgery, patients, racial disparities, and specific study types.
Objective: Surgery for metastatic spinal tumors can have a substantial impact on patients' quality of life by alleviating pain, improving function, and correcting spinal instability when indicated. The decision to operate is difficult because many patients with cancer are frail. Studies have highlighted the importance of preoperative nutritional status assessments; however, little is known about which aspects of nutrition accurately inform clinical outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Machine learning (ML) is rapidly growing in neurosurgery, leading to more complex publications that neurosurgeons need to understand to effectively use in practice.
- The authors conducted a literature search for ML studies in neurosurgery and developed a checklist with 14 questions to help readers evaluate ML methodologies and findings.
- With the goal of enhancing neurosurgeons' ability to incorporate ML into their work, the authors emphasize the need for education on ML techniques and the review process.
Article Synopsis
- Grade 3 1p/19q co-deleted oligodendroglioma is a rare brain tumor that often progresses and recurs; this study focuses on the effects of repeat surgery on patient survival.
- A cohort of 80 patients treated from 2001 to 2020 showed that those who had a second surgery after progression had better overall survival, while time to progression remained unchanged.
- Key factors linked to higher mortality included a preoperative Karnofsky Performance Status below 80, not achieving gross total resection during initial surgery, and having ongoing neurological deficits post-surgery.
Study Design: Observational cohort study.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between safety-net hospital (SNH) status and hospital length of stay (LOS), cost, and discharge disposition in patients undergoing surgery for metastatic spinal column tumors.
Summary Of Background Data: SNHs serve a high proportion of Medicaid and uninsured patients.
Objective: The rates of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minority (UREM) students successfully matching into neurosurgical residency are extremely low and do not reflect the makeup of the general population. As of 2019, only 17.5% of neurosurgical residents in the United States were women, 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Group patients who required open surgery for metastatic breast cancer to the spine by functional level and metastatic disease characteristics to identify factors that predispose to poor outcomes.
Methods: A retrospective analysis included patients managed at 2 tertiary referral centers from 2008 to 2020. The primary outcome was a 90-day adverse event.
Background: Breast cancer molecular features and modern therapies are not included in spine metastasis prediction algorithms.
Objective: To examine molecular differences and the impact of postoperative systemic therapy to improve prognosis prediction for spinal metastases surgery and aid surgical decision making.
Methods: This is a retrospective multi-institutional study of patients who underwent spine surgery for symptomatic breast cancer spine metastases from 2008 to 2021 at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Objective: Cancer patients with spinal metastases may undergo surgery without clear assessments of prognosis, thereby impacting the optimal palliative strategy. Because the morbidity of surgery may adversely impact recovery and initiation of adjuvant therapies, evaluation of risk factors associated with mortality risk and complications is critical. Evaluation of body composition of cancer patients as a surrogate for frailty is an emerging area of study for improving preoperative risk stratification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Procedures to treat medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia (MRTN) include stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and microvascular decompression (MVD). The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of SRS versus MVD in the treatment of MRTN, with a subgroup focus on those being treated for the first time.
Methods: Search strategy was performed using the PRISMA guidelines for article identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion.