Cervical decompressive laminectomy and lateral mass screw-rod arthrodesis: surgical experience and analytical review of 4120 consecutive screws.

BACKGROUND: Cervical decompressive laminectomy with lateral mass arthrodesis is a common neurosurgical procedure used to address a variety of cervical spine pathologies. PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the safety and efficacy of this neurosurgical procedure using the Anderson-Sekhon technique for screw trajectory. METHODS: The study retrospectively reviewed all clinical and radiological indicators for patients who underwent lateral mass arthrodesis between December 2005 and December 2017. All patients underwent polyaxial screw-rod implants using the Anderson-Sekhon technique for screw trajectory. It additionally reported all intra- and post-operative complications, along with short- and long-term outcomes for these patients. The follow-up period ranged from 2 months to 10 years. RESULTS: The study evaluated 695 patients who received a total of 4120 lateral mass screws. This is considered the largest reported case series up to date. No patients had neuro-vascular injuries. The main complications included 51 (7.3%) cases of screw malposition, as when the screw had breached either of foramen transversarium, neural foramen, or the facet joint; 39 (5.6%) cases of lateral mass breakdown; 29 (4.2%) cases of C5 root pain which has subsided overtime; 22 (3.2%) of incidental durotomy; and 18 (2.6%) cases of postoperative wound infection. There were only 3 cases of screw pullout leading to a stability rate of 99.5%. Most cases demonstrated very good to excellent outcomes on both short- and long-term follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical decompressive laminectomy with lateral mass arthrodesis is a safe and effective technique for the management of different cervical spine pathologies, which results in favourable short- and long-term outcomes.

A New Weighted Deep Learning Feature Using Particle Swarm and Ant Lion Optimization for Cervical Cancer Diagnosis on Pap Smear Images.

One of the most widespread health issues affecting women is cervical cancer. Early detection of cervical cancer through improved screening strategies will reduce cervical cancer-related morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Using a Pap smear image is a novel method for detecting cervical cancer. Previous studies have focused on whole Pap smear images or extracted nuclei to detect cervical cancer. In this paper, we compared three scenarios of the entire cell, cytoplasm region, or nucleus region only into seven classes of cervical cancer. After applying image augmentation to solve imbalanced data problems, automated features are extracted using three pre-trained convolutional neural networks: AlexNet, DarkNet 19, and NasNet. There are twenty-one features as a result of these scenario combinations. The most important features are split into ten features by the principal component analysis, which reduces the dimensionality. This study employs feature weighting to create an efficient computer-aided cervical cancer diagnosis system. The optimization procedure uses the new evolutionary algorithms known as Ant lion optimization (ALO) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Finally, two types of machine learning algorithms, support vector machine classifier, and random forest classifier, have been used in this paper to perform classification jobs. With a 99.5% accuracy rate for seven classes using the PSO algorithm, the SVM classifier outperformed the RF, which had a 98.9% accuracy rate in the same region. Our outcome is superior to other studies that used seven classes because of this focus on the tissues rather than just the nucleus. This method will aid physicians in diagnosing precancerous and early-stage cervical cancer by depending on the tissues, rather than on the nucleus. The result can be enhanced using a significant amount of data.

Bilateral testicular Leydig cell hyperplasia presented incidentally: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Leydig cell hyperplasia or tumor represents less than 3% of all testicular tumors. It can be defined as an increase in the size and number of Leydig cell within the testicles. These cells are responsible for the production of testosterone in human males. CASE PRESENTATION: Our patient is a forty-eight-year-old male presented with erectile dysfunction and decreased libido for the past six months. Ultrasound of the scrotum show bilateral hypoechoic testicular masses larger on the left size thus left orchidectomy was performed. Histopathology confirmed our diagnosis. DISCUSSION: Leydig cell hyperplasia (LCH) is a rare and mostly benign entity that affects both children and adults. In adults, it might be associated with variety of condition including Klinefelter's syndrome, exogenous human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) therapy, and many others but it mostly occurs idiopathically. Scrotal ultrasound and tumor markers can be used to diagnose most of the patients with LCH. CONCLUSION: LCH should be differentiated from Leydig cell tumor to avoid unnecessary and sometimes harmful intervention in the future.

Cervical tourniquet during cesarean section to reduce bleeding in morbidly adherent placenta: a pilot study.

Objective: To evaluate a modified surgical technique aiming to reduce bleeding and preserve fertility in morbidly adherent placenta by cervical tourniquet in cesarean sections. Methods: The cesarean section operations and the cervical ligation approach were performed by a single expert consultant obstetrician. The general demographics and clinical characteristics for all participants were collected and studied. Results: Eleven participants were involved. The uterus was preserved in nine patients, whereas two patients had hysterectomy. The mean blood loss was 1688.8 ml for patients whose uterus was preserved. The mean length of stay was 5.5 days. Conclusion: Cervical ligation is a simple method that can be applied by junior and experienced obstetricians to preserve the uterus.

Enema Administration During Labor: Pregnant Women's Perspective and Knowledge.

Introduction: Current evidence does not support the routine use of rectal enemas (REs) because they have not been associated with reduced rates of puerperal infection, degree of perineal tear, or duration of labor. A recent literature review recognized knowledge gaps regarding the uses of RE during labor including women's perceptions, pain, and satisfaction. Objectives: To report pregnant women's knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, pain, and satisfaction associated with the use of RE during labor. Methods: A prospective study was conducted between 20 October 2019 and 20 October 2020. Women were included if they were 37 weeks or more pregnant, had a viable pregnancy, were admitted in labor, and had an RE. Characteristic data and data about knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, pain, and satisfaction associated with its use were recorded. Women were regrouped based on their level of knowledge into low- and high-level groups. Attitudes, perceptions, inconveniences, pain, and satisfaction were regrouped into two categories: low and high on the Likert scale. Results: A total of 300 women were recruited, with means (SD) for age and gestational age of 27.8 (4.8) years, and 40 (1.1) weeks, respectively, and 45.7% were knowledgeable or very knowledgeable, 76% had a positive attitude, and 88.7% perceived enemas as important. The mean scores (SD) for pain and satisfaction as measured on visual analogue scales were 1.5 (1.8) and 5.4 (1.8), respectively. Women with high knowledge about RE were older and multiparous. Recruited women were more likely to report lower inconvenience and pain scores and higher satisfaction scores (all P<.05). Conclusion: Most recruited women were knowledgeable about REs, perceived them as important, and expressed a positive attitude toward their administration. The low levels of inconvenience, pain, and complications and the high satisfaction rates may be used when counseling women about when an RE is required during labor.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic curfew on the psychosocial lives of pregnant women in Jordan.

OBJECTIVES: Worldwide the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the health and psychosocial lives of people. International guidelines recommend special attention to pregnant women during pandemics and national emergencies. This study aimed to report the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic curfew on the psychosocial lives of pregnant women in Jordan. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted and included women who were pregnant during the COVID-19 curfew in Jordan, which took place between mid-March and mid-June of 2020. SETTINGS: A web-based survey that was posted on various social media platforms. PARTICIPANTS: Women who at the time of the study were 18 years of age or more, were living in Jordan, and were pregnant during the curfew. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: Data collected included women's characteristics, the impact of the curfew on the pregnancy, physical activity, and psychosocial lives and the barriers to seeking healthcare, in addition to pregnancy and delivery details, and changes in nutrition and supplements intake. A total of 877 women responded to the survey. The results showed that 21.1% of the respondents did not receive any antenatal care (ANC) during the curfew. The respondents also reported that the main barriers for seeking ANC included healthcare facilities being closed (85.2%), the need for travel permits (76.8%), financial difficulties (63.9%), and fear of catching the COVID-19 virus (60.1%). Furthermore, 93.3% reported that they had psychological stress, and 29.9% reported that they had at least one form of domestic violence. Statistically significant associations existed between various women's characteristics, obstetric, psychosocial factors, and the level of psychological stress. KEY CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic curfew, which was applied in Jordan, resulted in a negative impact on the psychosocial lives of pregnant women. As a result, pregnant women did not receive optimal antenatal care and experienced higher degrees of psychological stress and domestic violence. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The findings of our study may encourage national healthcare policymakers to ensure the provision of appropriate psychosocial support of pregnant women during large scale emergencies.

Isolated tectal cavernomas: A comprehensive literature review with a case presentation.

Intracranial cavernous angiomas or cavernomas (ICCs) are abnormal blood-filled vasculatures made of mono-endothelial layer and characterized by their bubble-like caverns. Brainstem cavernomas (BSCs) is a critical form of ICCs since slight changes in the lesion can result in devastating or life-threatening outcomes. We hereby present a rare case of BSC developed in the mesencephalic tectum with intraventricular bleeding and Parinaud's Syndrome. Our patient was managed by complete surgical resection of the lesion through an infra-tentorial supracerebellar approach. Additionally, we reviewed and analyzed the hitherto reported cases of isolated tectal cavernomas (TCs) in the literature, including our case, to elucidate the main factors associated with the management outcomes of TCs. There have been 25 cases of isolated TC reported until now. Most of the patients were adults between 18-77 y of age, except for two children (7 and 13 y). There was no sex predominance. Symptomatic patients presented with headache 56%, altered level of consciousness 24%, and/or double vision 20%. Most cases (64%) had hemorrhagic lesions at presentation, and 60% of all cases experienced recurrent hemorrhages. Parinaud's Syndrome was recorded in five cases, including the current one. All cases affected with Parinaud's were males. Lesion size was a determinant of the outcome as larger lesions were more likely to result in persistent deficits. Surgical resection of the lesion was an effective management modality with ∼79% (15/19) of patients who underwent surgery ended up with complete recovery.

6th year medical students' future specialty preferences: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Studying career preferences can help in designing and improving health service systems. Determining the preferred specialty and understanding the compulsion affecting specialty choice will provide clues to influence such choice in the future to shift the balance of specialties among practitioners. The current study aimed to determine medical students' preferable specialty choices and the factors influencing their choices and their attitude towards postgraduate medical education in Jordan and abroad. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The descriptive cross-sectional study design included 6th-year medical students in medical faculties in Jordan. An online questionnaire was created on Google Forms and posted on platforms accessible by medical students at level six. Numbers and percentages were presented for all variables. Frequency distributions were also presented. Chi-square distribution was used to measure the association between categorical data. Alpha level of 0.05 was used. RESULTS: Most students 188 (74.3%) preferred to continue their post-graduate training abroad, while only 65 (25.7%) favored Jordan. 150 (59.3%) of the respondents are interested in the medical - non-surgical - specialties. The most important factor that encouraged the students to choose a specialty was Job opportunity (32.5%) followed by the number of years required to complete the training and the expected income (27.7%) each. CONCLUSION: Supportive steps should be undertaken to motivate medical graduates toward the needed specialties. Moreover, local Specialty training programs need to be -reevaluated to ensure proper post graduate medical learning.

Management of intramedullary spinal cord abscess: experience with four cases, pathophysiology and outcomes.

Intramedullary spinal cord abscess (ISCA) in children is extremely a rare infection of the central nervous system (CNS); and probably a devastating neurological condition. Clinical awareness of patients at risk is crucial for early diagnosis and intervention; as this entity is one of the treatable conditions of paraparesis. Association with congenital neuro-ectodermal abnormality in children is frequent. This pathology highlights the importance of complete neurological checks of infants as a part of their routine physical examination and early management of patients with congenital dermal sinus, prophylactic surgical resection of such a congenital anomaly is recommended by most authors to prevent serious infections of the CNS. However, once the abscess is established; immediate surgical drainage along side adequate antibiotics should be instituted. This may guarantee improving neurological outcome. In this communication, the authors present their experience with four cases of ISCA in children treated successfully with surgical drainage, intravenous antibiotics and neuro rehabilitation between 2001 and 2006 and discuss their results. We concluded that early diagnosis and treatment is essential; before a devastating mechanico-vascular insult of the spinal cord is established from rapid formation of the abscess and a swift expansion of the spinal cord within the limited intraspinal space.

Glioblastoma multiforme of the cerebellum.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly malignant glial tumor seen commonly in the cerebral hemispheres, but rarely encountered in the cerebellum. It may occur at any age, but is seen more often in adult age groups. Despite its rarity, GBM should be considered in patients with a ring-enhancing lesion in the cerebellum. No consensus regarding the best management has yet been established. However, multimodal treatment is currently available to deal with these lesions: wide excision with radiochemotherapy may improve and prolong the patients life. Although the outcome remains dismal, we emphasize that timely multi modal treatment may provide the patient a better outcome and longer life. Herein, we report 2 new cases of cerebellar GBM and discuss their outcome and present a review of the relevant literature.

Multiple cerebral and leptomeningeal metastases from ovarian carcinoma: unusual early presentation.

Although virtually any systemic malignancy is capable of metastasizing to the brain, ovarian carcinoma, one of the more common female genital malignancies, is one of the rarer forms of brain metastases. In general, the outcome for ovarian carcinoma with brain metastases is extremely poor as most of these patients have widespread lesions elsewhere. This report describes the first known case of multiple cerebral and leptomeningeal metastases as the initial manifestation of ovarian carcinoma in a 41-year old woman who presented with a one-week history of headache, vomiting and confusion. CT scan of the brain was unremarkable, but lumbar puncture revealed atypical cells in the CSF. MRI scan of the brain showed multiple small enhancing lesions. Craniotomy for excision of one of these lesions demonstrated metastatic adenocarcinoma. A large ovarian tumour identified on pelvic CT scan was resected and the patient subsequently received chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Unfortunately she continued to decline and died within six months. Unlike primary tumours such as malignant melanoma, ovarian carcinoma does not have a predilection for the central nervous system (CNS), but the rare instances with CNS involvement occur at an advanced stage of the disease. Once the CNS is involved, the outcome is abysmal, even with multimodality therapy. It is extremely unusual for ovarian carcinoma to present with multiple CNS involvement.

Surgical resection of neoplastic cervical spine lesions in relation to the vertebral artery V2 segment.

Neoplastic cervical spine lesions are seen infrequently by the spinal surgeon. The surgical management of these tumors, particularly with associated neurovascular compromise, is challenging in terms of achieving proper resection and spinal stabilization and ensuring no subsequent recurrence or failure of fixation. In this report we highlight some of the problems encountered in the surgical management of tumors involving the cervical spine with techniques applied for gross total resection of the tumor without compromising the vertebral arteries. Ten patients with neoplastic cervical spine lesions were managed in our study. The common cardinal presentation was neck and arm pain with progressive cervical radiculo-myelopathy. All patients had plain X-rays, computer tomography scans, and magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine. Digital subtraction or magnetic resonance angiograms were performed on both vertebral arteries when the pathology was found to be in proximity to the vertebral artery. When a tumor blush with feeders was evident, endovascular embolization to minimize intraoperative bleeding was also considered. A single approach or a combined anterior cervical approach for corpectomy and cage-with-plate fixation and posterior decompression for resection of the rest of the tumor with spinal fixation was then accomplished as indicated. All cases made a good neurological recovery and had no neural or vascular complications. On the long-term follow-up of the survivors there was no local recurrence or surgical failure. Only three patients died: two from the primary malignancy and one from pulmonary embolism. This report documents a safe and reliable way to deal with neoplastic cervical spine lesions in proximity to vertebral arteries with preservation of both arteries.