Use of Sham Interventions in Randomized Controlled Trials in Neurosurgery.

Background:  The use of sham interventions in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is essential to minimize bias. However, their use in surgical RCTs is rare and subject to ethical concerns. To date, no studies have looked at the use of sham interventions in RCTs in neurosurgery.

Electronic search strategies fail to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in neurosurgery.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard studies to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Although they are frequently identified through open searches in electronic databases, no studies have evaluated how easy it is to identify RCTs in neurosurgery using electronic search strategies. The present study evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of different search strategies applied to commonly used databases to identify RCTs in neurosurgery.

Treatment of childhood diffuse brain stem tumors: comparison of results in different treatment modalities.

Background: Diffuse brainstem tumors in children are rare and its treatment is controversial. Although radiotherapy (RT) used to be the treatment of choice, results remained unsatisfactory. The association of RT with other therapies is common, but lacks scientific data regarding its efficacy.

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy in children younger than 1 year of age.

Object: The authors analyzed data obtained in 36 patients younger than 1 year of age who were treated with endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) for obstructive hydrocephalus at their institution.

Methods: There were 17 boys and 19 girls who ranged in age from 3 days to 11 months (mean 4.7 months).