[Is the use of total vertebrectomy justified for single vertebral metastases? Presentation of one clinical case and review of the literature].

Introduction: the indication for total vertebrectomy in single vertebral metastases is increasingly questioned, especially in metastases with unknown primary tumour.

Material And Methods: in this article we describe a case of vertebral metastasis of unknown primary tumour treated by total vertebrectomy, and a review of the literature.

Results: in those patients with a good general condition, single vertebral metastases and no involvement of internal organs, as in our case, curative surgical treatment can be considered with total vertebrectomy being the treatment of choice in lesions that only affect the body of the vertebra.

Mortality, Functional Status, and Quality of Life after 5 Years of Patients Admitted to Critical Care for Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess long-term outcome in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage admitted to the intensive care unit.

Methods: Mortality and Glasgow Outcome Scale, Barthel Index, and 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L) scores were analyzed in a multicenter cohort study of three Spanish hospitals (336 patients). Mortality was also analyzed in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database.

Prognostic Value of Variations in Serum Biomarkers and Prognostic Scores Values Between Admission and Second Day in Intensive Care Unit Septic Patients.

Objective To determinate the prognostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) changes during the first two days of admission to the ICU with sepsis and/or septic shock, and to compare it with changes in Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) and Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) prognostic scores. Methods A single-center prospective observational study was performed. Fifty consecutive patients admitted to the ICU, diagnosed of severe sepsis/septic shock were included.

Improvement of quality of life (QOL) between 1 and 3-4 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in ICU patients.

Background: Evaluation of changes in quality of life (QOL) in ICU patients several years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not well documented.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in all patients with TBI admitted between 2004 and 2008 to the ICU of Regional Hospital of Malaga (Spain). Functional status was evaluated by Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and QOL by PAECC (Project for the Epidemiologic Analysis of Critical Care patients) questionnaire between 0 (normal QOL) to 29 points (worst QOL).

Validation of the ICH score in patients with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage admitted to the intensive care unit in Southern Spain.

Objective: Validation of the intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) score in patients with a diagnosis of spontaneous ICH admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: A multicentre cohort study was conducted in all consecutive patients with ICH admitted to the ICUs of three hospitals with a neurosurgery department between 2009 and 2012 in Andalusia, Spain. Data collected included ICH, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) scores.

[Sciatic nerve compression as a complication of the sitting position].

There are several complications and disadvantages related to sitting position. Among the most frequent are air embolism, pneumocefalus, quadriplegia presumably due to flexion myelopathy, the risk of haematomas at the operative site and the fatigue of the surgeon. Despite the advent of technical innovations the choice of patient position is still done depending on the surgeon preference or experience.