Tag: Etiology

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How definitive treatment affects the rupture rate of unruptured cerebral aneurysms: a competing risk survival analysis

J Neurosurg 132:1062–1067, 2020

To investigate the risk of bleeding from unruptured cerebral aneurysms (UCAs), previous studies have used Kaplan-Meier analyses without treating the definitive treatment as a competing risk event, which may underestimate the rupture rate. The authors analyzed the survival of patients with UCAs alongside the occurrence of aneurysm bleeding and its competing risk events.

METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted on 722 patients diagnosed with UCAs in the period from 2000 to 2009 using an institution’s electronic medical records and telephone interviews. The cumulative incidence of aneurysm rupture was examined, and factors contributing to rupture were assessed using regression analyses.

RESULTS By 2014, 19 patients had experienced aneurysm rupture, with an overall rupture rate of 0.57% per year over 3320.8 person-years. However, cumulative incidence analysis indicated that 1.3% of all patients had a rupture within 2 years after aneurysm identification, and 38.4% of the patients underwent definitive treatment in the same period. Among the patients who experienced rupture, regression analysis revealed that an aneurysm size greater than 5 mm, a location in the anterior or posterior communicating arteries, and an irregular shape contributed to aneurysm rupture, with HRs of 4.4 (95% CI 1.2–15.7), 3.5 (95% CI 1.4–8.7), and 2.1 (95% CI 0.7–6.0), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS Rupture rate analyses using the person-year or standard Kaplan-Meier method are not as informative without consideration of the competing risks. The incidence of aneurysm rupture should be presented clearly with those of competing risks.

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Craniocervical Instability in the Setting of Os Odontoideum

Craniocervical Instability in the Setting of Os Odontoideum

Neurosurgery 76:514–521, 2015

Our clinical understanding of os odontoideum (OO) remains incomplete. Congenital and traumatic causes have been proposed and advocated. Clinical presentations range from asymptomatic to axial pain to myelopathy or vertebral-basilar ischemia. A consensus for surgical management exists for those found to have an unstable atlantoaxial complex or symptomatic cranial-vertebral junction compression.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical presentation and surgical outcomes of patients with OO and an unstable atlantoaxial complex or symptomatic cranial-vertebral junction compression.

METHODS: Patients with a diagnosis of OO who underwent surgical management were included. Patients were excluded on the basis of previous C2 fracture, Fielding diagnostic criteria, and inadequate follow-up. History of trauma and presenting symptoms were assessed. Clinical and neurological improvements were measured with the use of patient satisfaction scores and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores. Fusion status was documented with the use of radiographs and computed tomographic imaging.

RESULTS: Of 279 patients, 112 reported a history of cranial-vertebral junction trauma, whereas 28 were diagnosed with congenital malformations. Clinically, 84.9% of patients presented with myelopathy, with pain presented in 42.6%. Atlantoaxial fixation was performed in 240 patients, occiput-to-C2 fixation in 35 patients, and extended occipitocervical fixation in 4 patients. Mean follow-up was 40.3 months. Complications were reported in 2.4% of patients. Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores improved from a preoperative mean of 12.4 to 14.8. Two hundred thirty-five patients (77.7%) improved, with 30 patients experiencing no change in symptoms and 14 patients deteriorating. Fusion was achieved in 96.8% of patients.

CONCLUSION: Our data reveal that surgical treatment for OO using the indications and techniques delineated is associated with high satisfaction rates, improved functional scores, and high fusion rates with low complication rates.

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