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Surgery of complex cranial base lesions carries a high risk of damage to main vessels, often resulting in life-changing or even life-threatening injuries. We describe a rapid, effective, and noninvasive application of a collagen-based hemostatic patch to repair the vertebral artery during cranial surgery. A 61-year-old male patient underwent retrosigmoid craniotomy to remove a foramen magnum meningioma that encased the vertebral artery. A linear incision was made behind the ear and standard retrosigmoid craniotomy was performed with preservation of the transverse and sigmoid sinuses. The dura was opened in a Y-shaped fashion and the cerebellum was retracted with cerebrospinal fluid being released. Removing the exposed tumor from the artery resulted in a small arterial bleed. Two pieces of an N-hydroxysuccinimide-functionalized polyethylene glycol-coated collagen patch (Hemopatch®, Baxter Healthcare Ltd.) were applied sequentially and were pressed to the bleed site for 2 min each. Hemostasis of the vertebral artery was achieved at the patient’s regular blood pressure. There was no postoperative bleeding, dissection or pseudoaneurysm. The patient recovered gradually with several cranial nerve deficits. There was no brain stem stroke. Twelve months on, the patient has made an excellent recovery from surgery, is independently mobile and has minimal cranial nerve deficits. Application of the collagen-based hemostatic patch proved to be an efficient, safe, and noninvasive technique that achieved rapid hemostasis, confirming its effectiveness in complicated surgery, where risk of hemorrhage can be critical for the surgery outcome.Funding: There was no funding for this case report. Baxter Healthcare Ltd. provided funding for preparation of this manuscript and the journal’s Rapid Service Fee.

Purpose Determine whether mirror intracranial aneurysms (MIAs) confer risk beyond aneurysm multiplicity and describe their distribution and longitudinal change. Methods Retrospective two-centre UK cohort of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) diagnosed 2006–2020; outcomes to 2022. Endpoints: first rupture, SAH-specific/all-cause mortality, time to treatment, and lesion-level growth/morphology change. Rates used Poisson models with person-time offsets; lesion-level risks used GEE (modified Poisson). Rupture-free survival used inverse-probability-weighted Kaplan–Meier. Models adjusted for baseline aneurysm count. Results 1,985 UIAs were identified; 289 (14.6%) were MIAs. MIAs clustered at the MCA bifurcation (57.8%) and ICA terminus (34.6%). First-rupture incidence was higher in MIAs (1.74/100 person-years (PY)) than aMIAs (0.76/100 PY) or SIAs (0.39/100 PY); MIA > SIA IRR 4.46 ( q  = 0.0003), MIA > aMIA IRR 2.29 ( q  = 0.0044). SAH-specific mortality incidence was higher in MIAs (1.21/100 PY) than SIAs (0.36/100 PY; IRR 3.36, q  = 0.0057) and aMIAs (0.19/100 PY; IRR 6.37, q  = 0.0002). IPW survival was poorer for MIAs vs aMIAs (weighted log-rank χ 2  = 9.95, p  = 0.0016) and vs SIAs (χ 2  = 18.09, p  = 2.11 × 10⁻ 5 ). Lesion-level GEE showed no symmetry-specific increase in rupture risk (omnibus p  = 0.72). Lesion-level growth ≥ 1 mm (RR 1.67, q  = 0.0380) and morphology change (RR 2.10, q  = 0.0121) were higher in MIAs. With aneurysm count adjustment, effects attenuated with wide CIs, consistent with limited power. Conclusion MIAs were associated with higher patient-time rupture and SAH-specific mortality and greater lesion-level instability, but not with an independent per-aneurysm rupture hazard. The excess patient-level risk is largely explained by exposure (multiplicity); a symmetry-related effect remains plausible but unconfirmed. Larger, prospectively harmonised datasets are needed.

The decision-making process is influenced by other factors like the need for or suitability of adjuvant treatment, co-morbidities, performance status and life expectancy. In the first method [2] the lowest accessible disc space that can be approached with the standard anterior cervical approach is determined by constructing a straight line passing through and parallel to the disc space that also passes above the manubrium on sagittal computed tomographic (CT) scan reconstruction [Figure 1]. The procedure should be embarked upon with due diligence and careful consideration of indications, patient factors, pathology and support from anaesthesia/intensive care and perhaps colleagues from cardiothoracic/vascular surgery.

We report an unexpected case of the spontaneous development of extensive pneumocephalus secondary to a frontal sinus defect in an adolescent with X-linked hydrocephalus and a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt. The frontal sinus defect is likely to have developed due to the pressure effects of longstanding raised intracranial pressure. The patient had undergone an emergency shunt revision surgery 3 months prior to developing pneumocephalus. On further exploration, there was a history of a left-sided nasal cerebrospinal fluid leak for many months, suggestive of raised intracranial pressure contributing to the development of a sinus defect. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of atraumatic spontaneous pneumocephalus secondary to a frontal sinus bone defect occurring as a result of raised intracranial pressure.Pneumocephalus is a rare but life-threatening condition. Despite developing extensive pneumocephalus, the patient only had nonspecific symptoms of poor appetite, vomiting, and slight changes in behaviour (lethargy and fatigue). As he was largely asymptomatic, this led to delays in picking up the pneumocephalus.

Insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt for hydrocephalus is one of the commonest neurosurgical procedures worldwide. Infection of the implanted shunt affects up to 15% of these patients, resulting in prolonged hospital treatment, multiple surgeries, and reduced cognition and quality of life. Our aim was to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of antibiotic (rifampicin and clindamycin) or silver shunts compared with standard shunts at reducing infection. In this parallel, multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial, we included patients with hydrocephalus of any aetiology undergoing insertion of their first ventriculoperitoneal shunt irrespective of age at 21 regional adult and paediatric neurosurgery centres in the UK and Ireland. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1 in random permuted blocks of three or six) to receive standard shunts (standard shunt group), antibiotic-impregnated (0·15% clindamycin and 0·054% rifampicin; antibiotic shunt group), or silver-impregnated shunts (silver shunt group) through a randomisation sequence generated by an independent statistician. All patients and investigators who recorded and analysed the data were masked for group assignment, which was only disclosed to the neurosurgical staff at the time of operation. Participants receiving a shunt without evidence of infection at the time of insertion were followed up for at least 6 months and a maximum of 2 years. The primary outcome was time to shunt failure due the infection and was analysed with Fine and Gray survival regression models for competing risk by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ISRCTN 49474281. Between June 26, 2013, and Oct 9, 2017, we assessed 3505 patients, of whom 1605 aged up to 91 years were randomly assigned to receive either a standard shunt (n=536), an antibiotic-impregnated shunt (n=538), or a silver shunt (n=531). 1594 had a shunt inserted without evidence of infection at the time of insertion (533 in the standard shunt group, 535 in the antibiotic shunt group, and 526 in the silver shunt group) and were followed up for a median of 22 months (IQR 10–24; 53 withdrew from follow-up). 32 (6%) of 533 evaluable patients in the standard shunt group had a shunt revision for infection, compared with 12 (2%) of 535 evaluable patients in the antibiotic shunt group (cause-specific hazard ratio [csHR] 0·38, 97·5% CI 0·18–0·80, p=0·0038) and 31 (6%) of 526 patients in the silver shunt group (0·99, 0·56–1·74, p=0·96). 135 (25%) patients in the standard shunt group, 136 (25%) in the antibiotic shunt group, and 140 (27%) in the silver shunt group had adverse events, which were not life-threatening and were mostly related to valve or catheter function. The BASICS trial provides evidence to support the adoption of antibiotic shunts in UK patients who are having their first ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion. This practice will benefit patients of all ages by reducing the risk and harm of shunt infection. UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

Blood tests on admission were suggestive of mild neutrophilia: haemoglobin was 111 g/L (reference range 115-160), white blood cell count was 11.3×109/l (4-11), neutrophil count 9.6×109/l (2-7.5) and C reactive protein was <5 mg/L. If lumbar puncture is contraindicated, and therefore cerebrospinal fluid cannot be obtained, or if the cerebrospinal fluid cannot confirm diagnosis of TB, then a biopsy of the lesion with tissue culture and polymerase chain reaction may be performed. Generic features of raised intracranial pressure, such as headache, visual disturbance, and vomiting, may be present alongside systemic features such as fever and/or weight loss.

The highest priority uncertainty for people with symptomatic cerebral cavernous malformation is whether to have medical management and surgery or medical management alone. We conducted a pilot phase randomised controlled trial to assess the feasibility of addressing this uncertainty in a definitive trial. The CARE pilot trial was a prospective, randomised, open-label, assessor-blinded, parallel-group trial at neuroscience centres in the UK and Ireland. We aimed to recruit 60 people of any age, sex, and ethnicity who had mental capacity, were resident in the UK or Ireland, and had a symptomatic cerebral cavernous malformation. Computerised, web-based randomisation assigned participants (1:1) to medical management and surgery (neurosurgical resection or stereotactic radiosurgery) or medical management alone, stratified by the neurosurgeon's and participant's consensus about the intended type of surgery before randomisation. Assignment was open to investigators, participants, and carers, but not clinical outcome event adjudicators. Feasibility outcomes included site engagement, recruitment, choice of surgical management, retention, adherence, data quality, clinical outcome event rate, and protocol implementation. The primary clinical outcome was symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage or new persistent or progressive non-haemorrhagic focal neurological deficit due to cerebral cavernous malformation or surgery during at least 6 months of follow-up. We analysed data from all randomly assigned participants according to assigned management. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (ISRCTN41647111) and has been completed. Between Sept 27, 2021, and April 28, 2023, 28 (70%) of 40 sites took part, at which investigators screened 511 patients, of whom 322 (63%) were eligible, 202 were approached for recruitment, and 96 had collective uncertainty with their neurosurgeon about whether to have surgery for a symptomatic cerebral cavernous malformation. 72 (22%) of 322 eligible patients were randomly assigned (mean recruitment rate 0·2 [SD 0·25] participants per site per month) at a median of 287 (IQR 67–591) days since the most recent symptomatic presentation. Participants’ median age was 50·6 (IQR 38·6–59·2) years, 68 (94%) of 72 participants were adults, 41 (57%) were female, 66 (92%) were White, 56 (78%) had a previous intracranial haemorrhage, and 28 (39%) had a previous epileptic seizure. The intended type of surgery before randomisation was neurosurgical resection for 19 (26%) of 72, stereotactic radiosurgery for 44 (61%), and no preference for nine (13%). Baseline clinical and imaging data were complete for all participants. 36 participants were randomly assigned to medical management and surgery (12 to neurosurgical resection and 24 to stereotactic radiosurgery) and 36 to medical management alone. Three (4%) of 72 participants withdrew, one was lost to follow-up, and one declined face-to-face follow-up, leaving 67 (93%) retained at 6-months’ clinical follow-up. 61 (91%) of 67 participants with follow-up adhered to the assigned management strategy. The primary clinical outcome occurred in two (6%) of 33 participants randomly assigned to medical management and surgery (8·0%, 95% CI 2·0–32·1 per year) and in two (6%) of 34 participants randomly assigned to medical management alone (7·5%, 1·9–30·1 per year). Investigators reported no deaths, no serious adverse events, one protocol violation, and 61 protocol deviations. This pilot phase trial exceeded its recruitment target, but a definitive trial will require extensive international engagement. National Institute for Health and Care Research.