Surgical versus conservative treatment for odontoid fractures in older people: an international prospective comparative study.

Background: The optimal treatment for odontoid fractures in older people remains debated. Odontoid fractures are increasingly relevant to clinical practice due to ageing of the population.

Methods: An international prospective comparative study was conducted in fifteen European centres, involving patients aged ≥55 years with type II/III odontoid fractures.

Survival after resection of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors: Introducing and validating a novel type-specific prognostic model.

Background: This study aimed to assess the performance of currently available risk calculators in a cohort of patients with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) and to create an MPNST-specific prognostic model including type-specific predictors for overall survival (OS).

Methods: This is a retrospective multicenter cohort study of patients with MPNST from 11 secondary or tertiary centers in The Netherlands, Italy and the United States of America. All patients diagnosed with primary MPNST who underwent macroscopically complete surgical resection from 2000 to 2019 were included in this study.

Low-Threshold-For-Surgery Versus Primarily-Conservative Treatment for Odontoid Fractures in the Elderly: Evaluating Practice Variation in The Netherlands.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Odontoid fractures are the most common cervical spine fractures in the elderly. The optimal treatment remains controversial.

Spinal fixation after laminectomy in pigs prevents postoperative spinal cord injury.

Background: A safe, effective, and ethically sound animal model is essential for preclinical research to investigate spinal medical devices. We report the initial failure of a porcine spinal survival model and a potential solution by fixating the spine.

Methods: Eleven female Dutch Landrace pigs underwent a spinal lumbar interlaminar decompression with durotomy and were randomized for implantation of a medical device or control group.

Diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography angiography (CTA) for diagnosing blunt cerebrovascular injury in trauma patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Previous literature showed that the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is not equally comparable with that of the rarely used golden standard of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for detecting blunt cerebrovascular injuries (BCVI) in trauma patients. However, advances in CTA technology may prove CTA to become equally accurate. This study investigated the diagnostic accuracy of CTA in detecting BCVI in comparison with DSA in trauma patients.

Oncological Treatment Considerations Differ across Surgical Subspecialties Treating Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors: An International Survey.

Background: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare and aggressive soft tissue sarcomas (STS) that, because of their origin, are operated by several surgical subspecialties. This may cause differences in oncologic treatment recommendations based on presentation. This study investigated these differences both within and between subspecialties.

Neurofibromatosis-associated malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors in children have a worse prognosis: A nationwide cohort study.

Background: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) are rare and aggressive non-rhabdomyoblastic soft-tissue sarcomas (NRSTS) in children. This study set out to investigate clinical presentation, treatment modalities, and factors associated with survival in pediatric MPNST using Dutch nationwide databases.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR) and the Dutch Pathology Database (PALGA) from 1989 to 2017.

A nationwide cohort study on treatment and survival in patients with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours.

Background: Despite curative intents of treatment in localized malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (MPNSTs), prognosis remains poor. This study investigated survival and prognostic factors for overall survival in non-retroperitoneal and retroperitoneal MPNSTs in the Netherlands.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and the Dutch Pathology Database.

Blunt cerebrovascular injury: incidence and long-term follow-up.

Purpose: Blunt cerebrovascular injuries (BCVI), which can result in ischemic stroke, are identified in 1-2% of all blunt trauma patients. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) scanning has improved and is the diagnostic modality of choice in BCVI suspected patients. Data about long-term functional outcomes and the incidence of ischemic stroke after BCVI are limited.

Complications, secondary interventions and long term morbidity after en bloc sacrectomy.

Purpose: En bloc sacrectomy is a demanding surgical procedure to remove tumors from the sacrum. Comprehensive data on readmissions for complications endured months to years after initial discharge are scant. The purpose of this study is to present the long-term complications, readmissions and secondary interventions for patients having undergone en bloc sacrectomy.

[A score for rating instability in spinal metastases and the usefulness of conservative measures for instability].

Spinal instability in patients with spinal metastatic disease plays a role in the selection of surgical intervention. The classic 'three-column model' used in traumatology to assess the stability of the spinal column is not always applicable to spinal metastatic disease. The recently introduced Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) is the first instrument that can be used to classify instability in spinal metastatic disease.

Design of COSMIC: a randomized, multi-centre controlled trial comparing conservative or early surgical management of incomplete cervical cord syndrome without spinal instability.

Background: Incomplete cervical cord syndrome without spinal instability is a very devastating event for the patient and the family. It is estimated that up to 25% of all traumatic spinal cord lesions belong to this category. The treatment for this type of spinal cord lesion is still subject of discussion.

Incidence of and risk factors for complications associated with halo-vest immobilization: a prospective, descriptive cohort study of 239 patients.

Background: Since high rates of serious complications, such as death and pneumonia, during halo-vest immobilization have been reported, there has been a tendency of restraint with regard to the use of the halo vest. However, the rate of complications in a high-volume center with sufficient experience is unknown. Our objective was to determine the incidence of and risk factors associated with complications during halo-vest immobilization.

The paracondylar process: an unusual and treatable cause of posttraumatic headache.

Study Design: Case report and clinical discussion.

Objective: To describe a case of persistent posttraumatic headache associated with the presence of a paracondylar process, and the result of surgical resection of this osseous anomaly.

Summary Of Background Data: The paracondylar process is one of a group of congenital anomalies of the craniovertebral junction.

Bilateral intraneural perineurioma presenting as ulnar neuropathy at the elbow.

We describe a 36-year-old woman with progressive bilateral ulnar neuropathy. Sonographic and magnetic resonance imaging studies revealed extensive focal ulnar nerve enlargement at the elbow. Histological studies gave evidence of an intraneural perineurioma.

Transmanubrial osteomuscular sparing approach for sulcus superior tumours.

Objective: The authors report their initial experience with the transmanubrial osteomuscular sparing approach for resection of sulcus superior tumours. The feasibility of this technique is evaluated.

Patients: Between February 2000 and March 2002 three patients with sulcus superior tumours were surgically treated using the transmanubrial osteomuscular sparing approach.

Presentation of a general algorithm to include effect assessment on secondary poisoning in the derivation of environmental quality criteria. Part 1. Aquatic food chains.

Effect assessment on secondary poisoning can be an asset to effect assessments on direct poisoning in setting quality criteria for the environment. This study presents an algorithm for effect assessment on secondary poisoning. The water-fish-fish-eating bird or mammal pathway was analyzed as an example of a secondary poisoning pathway.

A double-blind, comparative study of gadodiamide injection and gadopentetate dimeglumine in MRI of the central nervous system.

Seventy-nine patients with known or suspected central nervous system lesions were studied with MRI in a phase III double-blind study. Forty were given gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd-DTPA) and 39 gadodiamide injection (Gd-DTPA BMA), a new low-osmolar nonionic contrast enhancing medium. The dosage was 0.

Ecotoxicological effects assessment: a comparison of several extrapolation procedures.

In the future, extrapolation procedures will become more and more important for the effect assessment of compounds in aquatic systems. For achieving a reliable method these extrapolation procedures have to be evaluated thoroughly. As a first step three extrapolation procedures are compared by means of two sets of data, consisting of (semi)chronic and acute toxicity test results for 11 aquatic species and 8 compounds.

Toxicity, biodegradability, and accumulation of a number of Cl/N-containing compounds for classification and establishing water quality criteria.

The evaluation of the ecotoxicity of chemical compounds is often hampered by the scarcity of the literature data on toxicity, biodegradability, and accumulation. In this study additional data on 16 Cl/N-containing organic compounds were gathered by laboratory experiments. For assignment to so-called gray or black lists, two different classification schemes were used.

Bio-indicators and chemical pollution of surface waters.

Attention is given to two different approaches to determine the water quality in relation to toxic stress.The first approach is based on direct observations on the state of health of the biota naturally occurring in the environment to be judged. In the original concept of biological indicators of water pollution the existence of differences in stress-susceptibility of different species is assumed.