Risk factor synergism in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) accounts for 5-10% of strokes but a disproportionately large amount of stroke-related morbidity. Several risk factors have been described, including smoking, hypertension, increasing age, and female sex. METHODS: This cross-sectional study examined all patients with aSAH within a nationally representative catchment from 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2020. Patients with aneurysmal SAH were identified from multiple sources, including a prospective database and death records. The population was estimated from projections from a door-to-door census and risk factors from stratified random sampled surveys conducted on a yearly basis. Poisson regression models were used to estimate the incidence and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for risk factors with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). RESULTS: We identified 875 cases of aSAH in 11,666,807 patient-years of follow-up, which corresponded to a crude incidence of 7.5 per 100,000 patient-years (95% CI 7-8) and a standardized incidence of 6.1/100,000 (95% CI 5.6-6.5). Smoking was the strongest individual risk factor, with a standardized incidence of 24/100,000 (95% CI 20-27) in smokers compared with 2.6/100,000 (2.1-3.2) in non-smokers (age-adjusted IRR 9.2, 95% CI 6.3-13.6). Hypertension (age-adjusted IRR 3.1, 95% CI 2.2-4.3) and female sex (age-adjusted IRR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.3) were also associated with increased incidence. The highest incidence was observed in hypertensive smokers (standardized incidence 63/100,000, 95% CI 41-84), who had a lifetime risk of aSAH of 6.7% (95% CI 5.4-8.1) after age 35. Compared with participants who were non-smokers without hypertension, the age-adjusted IRR in hypertensive smokers was 27.9 (95% CI 15.9-48.8). CONCLUSION: Smoking is the most prominent individual risk factor for aSAH. Smoking and hypertension appear to interact to increase the risk of aSAH synergistically.

Angiocentric glioma: Drop Metastases to the Spinal Cord.

BACKGROUND: Angiocentric glioma (AG) is an epileptogenic low grade (World Health Organization grade I) glial tumor with astrocytic and ependymal differentiation, most commonly affecting the pediatric and adolescent population. Despite its infiltrating histological growth kinetics, it is widely accepted that AG has a low potential for aggressive behavior. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present the case of a 42-year-old man who represents the first documented case of not only extracranial manifestation of AG, but also spinal metastatic dissemination. Our patient initially presented with a generalized tonic clonic seizure; following a biopsy, he was diagnosed with a low-grade supratentorial astrocytoma and subsequently received fractionated radiotherapy. He presented 10 months later with worsening dorsal column symptoms and was found to have a contrast-enhancing intradural extramedullary lesion that was surgically resected and histologically confirmed as an AG. CONCLUSION: Further research is required to examine the microenvironment and potential for malignant change in this tumor.

Intra-operative imaging for spinal level localisation in lumbar surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective review of the practice of 3 surgeons in a single centre during a 1-year period. Objective: We aimed to investigate our adherence to the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) guidelines regarding intra-operative imaging during lumbar surgery and to determine if this has any impact on length of surgery or complications rates, in particular rates of wrong-level surgery. Background: The SBNS recommends three x-rays for intra-operative spinal localisation - one prior to incision, the second after exposure of the laminae and before the commencement of decompression, and the third at the end of the operation to confirm the adequacy of decompression. At our centre, surgeon A performs x-rays 1 and 3 routinely, and x-ray 2 in cases where the anatomy is uncertain, surgeon B performs x-ray 2 only, and the practice of surgeon C varies depending on the complexity of cases. Method: We reviewed the surgical logbooks of 3 consultant neurosurgeons in our centre for the 1-year period between October 2015 and October 2016. Our study included 301 patients who had undergone lumbar decompression or lumbar discectomy during this period. Results: There were no cases of wrong-level surgery. The incorrect spinal level was initially exposed in 13 cases (4.3%). 10 of these had x-ray 2 only, 1 had x-ray 1, 1 had x-rays 1 and 2, and 1 had all 3 x-rays. Surgeon B performed 8 of these cases, four were performed by surgeon C, and 1 by surgeon A. The median duration of surgery was 80 minutes for lumbar decompression and 67.5 minutes for lumbar discectomy. The median duration of surgery in patients in whom the wrong level was initially exposed was 85 minutes for lumbar decompression and 80 minutes for lumbar discectomy. Conclusion: Performance of the 3 recommended x-rays may increase the identification of wrong-level exposures before the commencement of decompression and may reduce the length of surgery.