Concomitant use of Western and Chinese medicine treatments in neurosurgical patients in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the profile of concomitant use of Chinese medicine (CM) and Western medical treatment in neurosurgical patients. METHODS: A guided questionnaire survey was conducted on 309 Chinese patients under neurosurgical care in a teaching hospital in Hong Kong from June to July 2006. RESULTS: Concomitant use of CM was reported by 25.

Introduction of an electronic monitoring system for monitoring compliance with Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" methodology.

Background: MedSense is an electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system that provides Infection Control Practitioners with continuous access to hand hygiene compliance information by monitoring Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" guidelines. Unlike previous electronic monitoring systems, MedSense operates in open cubicles with multiple beds and does not disrupt existing workflows.

Methods: This study was conducted in a 6-bed neurosurgical intensive care unit with technical development and evaluation phases.

Impact of a multidisciplinary trauma team on the outcome of acute subdural haematoma.

Introduction: To review the outcome of patients with post-traumatic acute subdural haematoma (ASDH) before and after the establishment of a hospital trauma team at a designated trauma centre.

Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 82 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for post-traumatic ASDH. The 'PRE' and 'POST' groups included patients admitted before and after the establishment of a hospital trauma team, respectively.

Thalamo-perforating artery aneurysm in Moyamoya disease - case report.

A 31-year-old man with Moyamoya disease had received a right encephalo-duro-arterial synangiosis and later developed a rupture of the left thalamo-perforating artery aneurysm. Surgical strategies were discussed. Perfusion studies revealed increased haemodynamic stress on the left hemisphere which was likely the cause of the aneurysm.

Validation of a prognostic scoring system for locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated by stereotactic radiosurgery.

Background: Selection of patients with local failure of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) for appropriate type of salvage treatment can be difficult due to the lack of data on comparative efficacy of different salvage treatments. The purpose of the present study was to validate a previously published prognostic scoring system for local failures of NPC treated by radiosurgery based on reported results in the literature.

Methods: A literature search yielded 3 published reports on the use of radiosurgery as salvage treatment of NPC that contained sufficient clinical information for validation of the scoring system.

A 33-year-old Chinese woman with a left frontal tumor.

Rhabdoid tumor cells are typically observed in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) but may also be seen in meningioma,glioma, melanoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and metastatic carcinoma.We present an astroblastoma with unusual rhabdoid features which is rarely described in the English literature. Apart from the rhabdoid tumor cells, all the histopathological features typical for astroblastoma are present in this case.

Triology of neurosurgical complications after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for NPC. With improved survival, radiation-induced neurological complications are being diagnosed more commonly. We presented a patient with a trilogy of radiation-induced pathologies after radiotherapy for NPC.

Stereotactic radiosurgery versus gold grain implantation in salvaging local failures of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Limited local failure of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) can often be salvaged by reirradiation using different techniques. Both gold grain implantation (GGI) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) have been used as salvage treatment of NPC but the relative efficacy of these two treatments is not known.

Methods And Materials: A total of 74 patients with local NPC failure were included in this retrospective analysis.

Predictive factors of tumor control and survival after radiosurgery for local failures of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Stereotactic radiosurgery has been employed as a salvage treatment of local failures of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). To identify patients that would benefit from radiosurgery, we reviewed our data with emphasis on factors that predicted treatment outcome.

Patients And Methods: A total of 48 patients with local failures of NPC were treated by stereotactic radiosurgery between March 1996 and February 2005.

Endoscopic-assisted cranionasal resection of olfactory neuroblastoma.

Background: Cranionasal resection was first described in 1997 for the surgical resection of olfactory neuroblastoma. The endoscopic transnasal approach is used in cranionasal resection to replace the more invasive craniofacial resection. It has the advantages of avoiding the facial wound and its associated pain, swelling, and scar.

Linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery for limited, locally persistent, and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma: efficacy and complications.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and complication of linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) when used as salvage treatment for early-stage persistent and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after primary radiotherapy (RT).

Materials And Methods: Between March 1998 and June 2001, 18 patients (15 men and 3 women; median age 46 years, range 32-84) with locally persistent or recurrent NPC confined to the nasopharynx (rT1) or with limited extension to the nasal fossa or parapharyngeal space (rT2) were treated by SRS. Thirteen patients had rT1 disease and 5 had rT2 disease.