Publications by authors named "Katrina Ignacio"

Background: About 25% of patients with acute ischemic stroke have lacunar infarct on follow-up imaging. In this secondary analysis from the AcT (Alteplase Compared With Tenecteplase) trial, we assessed if there is variation in safety or efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis by infarct type in patients with no visible occlusion. We also determined if this effect differed between tenecteplase and alteplase.

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Background And Purpose: The safety and efficacy of tenecteplase in patients with ischemic stroke due to medium vessel occlusion (MeVO) are not well studied. We aimed to compare tenecteplase with alteplase in stroke due to MeVO.

Methods: Patients with baseline M2-middle cerebral artery (MCA), M3/M4-MCA, P2/P3/P4-posterior cerebral artery (PCA), A2/A3/A4-anterior cerebral artery (ACA) occlusions from the Alteplase Compared to Tenecteplase (AcT) trial were included.

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Background: Young adults with stroke have distinct professional and social roles making them vulnerable to symptoms of post-stroke depression (PSD) and post-stroke anxiety (PSA). Prior reviews have examined the prevalence of anxiety and depression in stroke populations. However, there are a lack of studies that have focused on these conditions in young adults.

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Background And Purpose: To evaluate the reliability and accuracy of nonaneurysmal perimesencephalic subarachnoid hemorrhage (NAPSAH) on Noncontrast Head CT (NCCT) between numerous raters.

Materials And Methods: 45 NCCT of adult patients with SAH who also had a catheter angiography (CA) were independently evaluated by 48 diverse raters; 45 raters performed a second assessment one month later. For each case, raters were asked: 1) whether they judged the bleeding pattern to be perimesencephalic; 2) whether there was blood anterior to brainstem; 3) complete filling of the anterior interhemispheric fissure (AIF); 4) extension to the lateral part of the sylvian fissure (LSF); 5) frank intraventricular hemorrhage; 6) whether in the hypothetical presence of a negative CT angiogram they would still recommend CA.

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Background: Guidelines recommend the treatment of emergent large vessel ischemic stroke (ELVIS) patients presenting beyond 6 hours of last known well time with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) based on perfusion computed tomography (CT) neuroimaging. We compared the outcomes (long-term good clinical outcomes, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and mortality) of ELVIS patients according to the type of CT neuroimaging they underwent.

Methods: We searched the following databases: Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, and Scopus from January 1, 2015, to June 14, 2023.

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A 70-year-old man presented with acute vertigo and ataxia. CT angiogram revealed left V3 segment vertebral artery occlusion (Figure 1, A and B). He received tenecteplase (0.

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Background: Short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) is a rare headache disorder that has been associated with pituitary adenomas. Resection has been posited to be curative.

Observations: A 60-year-old female presented with a 10-year history of SUNCT, which had been medically refractory.

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Awake craniotomy (AC) is a neurosurgical procedure that may be used to excise tumors located in eloquent areas of the brain. The techniques and outcomes of AC have been extensively described, but data on patient-reported experiences are not as well known. To determine these, we performed a scoping review of patient-reported intraoperative experiences during awake craniotomy for brain tumor resection.

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Unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) are a significant cause of anxiety and depression. Though the annual rupture rate is relatively low, ensuing mortality and morbidity may be high. Most published studies have focused on functional outcomes; however, limited studies have explored and reported on psychiatric outcomes, which are equally important.

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Background And Objective: Our study aimed to determine the ability of hematologic markers (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio [NLR], platelet/lymphocyte ratio, and red cell distribution width [RDW]) in predicting delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), modified Rankin Scale scores, and mortality in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).

Methods: A retrospective observational 6-year review of medical records was conducted to identify all consecutive patients with aSAH admitted to the largest training hospital in the Philippines. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses were performed to determine the association of the biomarkers with the respective outcomes.

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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected the outcomes of surgical neuro-oncology patients worldwide. We aimed to review the practice patterns in surgical neuro-oncology in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We also present a situational report from our own country.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on young Filipino adults (ages 18-49) to assess the prevalence and predictors of poststroke depression (PSD) and anxiety in stroke patients.
  • It found that 20.2% of the patients experienced depression and 34.2% had anxiety, with significant predictors for PSD including anxiety itself, lower mobility scores, and diabetes.
  • The researchers concluded that these psychiatric conditions are common in young stroke survivors and highlighted the importance for clinicians to recognize and address them to improve patients’ quality of life.
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Background: Despite multimodality treatment, the prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM) has remained poor. Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) offers additional local control by directly applying a radiation source to the resection margin, where most recurrences occur.

Methods: We performed a systematic review on the oncologic outcomes and toxicities of IORT for GBM in the era of modern external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and chemotherapy with temozolamide.

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Objective: With the exponential growth of literature on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we aimed to identify and characterize the 100 most cited COVID-19-related articles in neurology and neurosurgery.

Methods: In March 2021, we performed a title-specific search of the Scopus database using ("neurology" or "neurologic" or "neurosurgery" or "neurosurgical") and "COVID" as our search query term without date restrictions. The top 100 most cited English-language articles were obtained and reviewed.

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Background: Neurosurgical trainees have a heavy workload and poor quality of life, resulting in high rates of burnout and attrition. Consequently, wellness programs have been used by various training institutions to combat this situation.

Objective: We aimed to identify and describe wellness programs available for neurosurgical trainees in their training institutions, the outcome measures used to assess them, and their efficacy.

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Background: Pharmacologic treatment of vestibular schwannomas (VSs) may increase the success of conservative management for small lesions, and offer an alternative to surgery and stereotactic radiotherapy in symptomatic cases in the high-risk population. Agents that have been studied include aspirin (ASA), but the results of the preliminary studies have been conflicting. In this study, we aimed to systematically review the evidence on the effect of ASA intake on tumor growth in patients with VSs.

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Background: The effect of hormonal therapy has been extensively studied in women. However, similar data on male-to-female (MTF) transgenders, another important population that receives hormonal therapy is lacking. Existing studies in MTF transgenders are skewed toward mental health and health-harming behaviors while few have focused on chronic health conditions.

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Background: Awake craniotomy is a technique used to maximize resection of lesions in eloquent areas of the brain and preserve function. Although its use in high-income centers is well documented for tumors and vascular lesions, reports of its use in low-middle-income countries are limited. There are no published series from the Philippines.

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Background: The provision of adequate services for individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is an important issue since MS has a chronic and debilitating course.

Objective: We aimed to review the literature on health service delivery for individuals with MS in the Philippines and identify the gaps in adequate provision of healthcare in these individuals.

Methods: We reviewed data from relevant local and international repositories on health service delivery for individuals with MS in the Philippines.

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Hypokalemic periodic paralysis secondary to distal renal tubular acidosis presenting with prominent bulbar symptoms is extremely rare. The exact pathophysiology by which hypokalemia causes weakness is yet to be elucidated though muscle and nerve membrane hyperpolarization have been hypothesized. The pathophysiology of bulbar involvement in this condition is even more unclear.

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Ophthalmoplegia, ataxia and areflexia characterise the clinical triad of Miller-Fisher Syndrome (MFS). When the disease presents acutely, it can mimic posterior circulation stroke. We describe a case of an adult patient presenting with sudden dizziness, diplopia, vomiting, and loss of balance.

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