Euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis in the setting of acute intracerebral hemorrhage.

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening condition among diabetic patients characterized by metabolic anion gap (AG) acidosis of arterial pH <7.30, glucose >250 mg/dL, and positive ketones. The triggers for DKA can be infection, surgery, and, in reported cases, intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH).

Association between interhospital transfer and increased in-hospital mortality in patients with spinal epidural abscesses.

Background Context: Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is an uncommon yet serious infection, associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Patients diagnosed with SEA often require surgical interventions or critical care services that are not available at community hospitals and are therefore transferred to tertiary care centers. Little is known about the effects of interhospital transfer on acute outcomes for patients with SEA.

Racial Disparities in Outcomes After Spine Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Racial disparities are a major issue in health care but the overall extent of the issue in spinal surgery outcomes is unclear. We conducted a systematic review/meta-analysis of disparities in outcomes among patients belonging to different racial groups who had undergone surgery for degenerative spine disease.

Methods: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Review Database, and ClinicalTrials.

Telehealth's New Horizon: Providing Smart Hospital-Level Care in the Home.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical providers have expanded telehealth into daily practice, with many medical and behavioral health care visits provided remotely over video or through phone. The telehealth market was already facilitating home health care with increasing levels of sophistication before COVID-19. Among the emerging telehealth practices, telephysical therapy; teleneurology; telemental health; chronic care management of congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes; home hospice; home mechanical ventilation; and home dialysis are some of the most prominent.

Laparoscopic-Assisted Intra-Abdominal Section of the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve for Meralgia Paresthetica Following Anterior Hip Arthroplasty.

Background: Meralgia paresthetica, a pain syndrome that is caused by injury to the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, is a well-documented complication after anterior hip arthroplasty (THA). Traditional treatment of this peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome can be complicated in patients who have had THA via an anterior approach owing to the presence of scar in the postoperative bed.

Case Description: In a 70-year-old man, we performed a novel laparoscopic-assisted intra-abdominal approach to treat meralgia paresthetica in the setting of previous anterior THA.

Utility of Routine Outpatient Cervical Spine Imaging Following Anterior Cervical Corpectomy and Fusion.

Background: Construct failure is an uncommon but well-recognized complication following anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF). In order to screen for these complications, many centers routinely image patients at outpatient visits following surgery. There remains, however, little data on the utility of such imaging.

SPORT: Does incidental durotomy affect longterm outcomes in cases of spinal stenosis?

Background: Incidental durotomy is a familiar encounter during surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis. The impact of durotomy on long-term outcomes remains a matter of debate.

Objective: To determine the impact of durotomy on the long-term outcomes of patients in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT).

Postoperative Mycoplasma hominis infections after neurosurgical intervention.

Object: Mycoplasma hominis is a rare cause of infection after neurosurgical procedures. The Mycoplasma genus contains the smallest bacteria discovered to date. Mycoplasma are atypical bacteria that lack a cell wall, a feature that complicates both diagnosis and treatment.

Neurostimulation for neck pain and headache.

Patients with medically refractory headache disorders are a rare and challenging-to-treat group. The introduction of peripheral neurostimulation (PNS) has offered a new avenue of treatment for patients who are appropriate surgical candidates. The utility of PNS for headache management is actively debated.

Management of acute spinal cord injury in the neurocritical care unit.

Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with widespread disturbances not only affecting neurologic function but also leading to hemodynamic instability and respiratory failure. Traumatic SCI rarely occurs in isolation, and frequently is accompanied by trauma to other organ systems. Management of individuals with SCI is complex, requiring aggressive monitoring and prompt treatment when complications arise.

Association of a higher density of specialist neuroscience providers with fewer deaths from stroke in the United States population.

Object: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. Given that neurologists and neurosurgeons have special expertise in this area, the authors hypothesized that the density of neuroscience providers is associated with reduced mortality rates from stroke across US counties.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of the Area Resource File 2009-2010, a national county-level health information database maintained by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Variation in outcomes across centers after surgery for lumbar stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis in the spine patient outcomes research trial.

Study Design: Retrospective review of a prospectively collected database.

Objective: To examine whether short- and long-term outcomes after surgery for lumbar stenosis (SPS) and degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) vary across centers.

Summary Of Background Data: Surgery has been shown to be of benefit for both SPS and DS.

Increased population density of neurosurgeons associated with decreased risk of death from motor vehicle accidents in the United States.

Object: Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are a leading cause of death and disability in young people. Given that a major cause of death from MVAs is traumatic brain injury, and neurosurgeons hold special expertise in this area relative to other members of a trauma team, the authors hypothesized that neurosurgeon population density would be related to reduced mortality from MVAs across US counties.

Methods: The Area Resource File (2009-2010), a national health resource information database, was retrospectively analyzed.

Spine patient outcomes research trial: do outcomes vary across centers for surgery for lumbar disc herniation?

Background: Lumbar discectomy is the most commonly performed spine procedure. Academic spine centers with potentially differing caseloads and experience may have different outcomes.

Objective: To determine whether the choice of center in which surgery is performed affects lumbar discectomy outcomes.

Surgery for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis in Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial: does incidental durotomy affect outcome?

Study Design: Retrospective review of a prospectively collected multi-institutional database.

Objective: In the present analysis, we investigate the impact of incidental durotomy on outcome in patients undergoing surgery for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis.

Summary Of Background Data: Surgery for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis has several potential complications, one of the most common of which is incidental durotomy.

Outcomes after incidental durotomy during first-time lumbar discectomy.

Object: Incidental durotomy is an infrequent but well-recognized complication during lumbar disc surgery. The effect of a durotomy on long-term outcomes is, however, controversial. The authors sought to examine whether the occurrence of durotomy during surgery impacts long-term clinical outcome.

SPORT: does incidental durotomy affect long-term outcomes in cases of spinal stenosis?

Background: Incidental durotomy is a familiar encounter during surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis. The impact of durotomy on long-term outcomes remains a matter of debate.

Objective: To determine the impact of durotomy on the long-term outcomes of patients in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT).

Cause-specific mortality among neurosurgeons.

Object: The authors sought to determine a cause-specific mortality profile for US neurosurgeons during the period 1979-2005.

Methods: Neurosurgeons who died during the study period were identified from the Physician Master File database. Using the National Death Index, the reported cause of death was identified for 93.

Ultrasound improves the success rate of a sural nerve block at the ankle.

Background And Objectives: : During ankle block performance, anesthetizing the sural nerve is important for generating complete anesthesia of the lateral aspect of the foot. We hypothesized that an ultrasound-guided perivascular approach, utilizing the lesser saphenous vein as a reference, would prove more successful than a conventional approach based on surface landmarks.

Methods: : Eighteen healthy volunteers were prospectively randomized into this controlled and blinded study.

An unusual case of penetrating injury to the spine resulting in cauda equina syndrome: case presentation and a review of the literature.

Study Design: Case study.

Objective: We present an unusual case of cauda equina syndrome due to a penetrating injury in which the brake caliper of a motorcycle lodged in the lumbar canal of the operator of the vehicle after a road accident and provide a review of the literature on penetrating injury to the spine.

Summary Of Background Data: While the large majority of penetrating spinal injuries are due to gunshot wounds, penetrating injury to the spine causing cauda equina syndrome is rare.

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor of the spine in an adult: case report and review of the literature.

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs) are rare, malignant brain tumors which occur almost exclusively in infants and young children. There have been only 17 cases of AT/RT in adults reported in the medical literature and the rarity of this tumor makes the diagnosis in adults difficult. We describe a case of an AT/RT of the spinal cord in an adult.