Awake versus Asleep Anesthesia in Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery for Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a well-established surgical therapy for patients with Parkinsons' Disease (PD). Traditionally, DBS surgery for PD is performed under local anesthesia, whereby the patient is awake to facilitate intraoperative neurophysiological confirmation of the intended target using microelectrode recordings. General anesthesia allows for improved patient comfort without sacrificing anatomic precision and clinical outcomes. METHODS: We performed a systemic review and meta-analysis on patients undergoing DBS for PD. Published randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective studies, and case series which compared asleep and awake techniques for patients undergoing DBS for PD were included. A total of 19 studies and 1,900 patients were included in the analysis. RESULTS: We analyzed the (i) clinical effectiveness - postoperative UPDRS III score, levodopa equivalent daily doses and DBS stimulation requirements. (ii) Surgical and anesthesia related complications, number of lead insertions and operative time (iii) patient's quality of life, mood and cognitive measures using PDQ-39, MDRS, and MMSE scores. There was no significant difference in results between the awake and asleep groups, other than for operative time, for which there was significant heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: With the advent of newer technology, there is likely to have narrowing differences in outcomes between awake or asleep DBS. What would therefore be more important would be to consider the patient's comfort and clinical status as well as the operative team's familiarity with the procedure to ensure seamless transition and care.

Paediatric brain tumours in Singapore: A 15-year epidemiological and outcome study.

Paediatric brain tumours (PBTs) are the most common solid tumours in children. Previous publications reflect variations in incidence rates and frequency of histological types in different global populations. However, there are limited studies on the epidemiology of PBTs in Singapore. This study aims to summarise the epidemiology of paediatric brain tumours managed in Singapore. This is an ethics-approved retrospective study of all patients below 19 years old diagnosed with PBTs managed by Singapore's 2 tertiary paediatric neurosurgical centres, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and the National University Hospital (NUH) over a 15-year period from 01 January 2002 to 31 December 2017. Data collected was analysed for age, gender, tumour characteristics, presenting complaints, location, treatment modalities, 1-year and 5-year overall survival (OS). A total of 396 patients were included. The mean age of diagnosis was 7.05 years (0.25-18; ± 4.83) and male-to-female ratio was 1.41:1. Top histological groups were astrocytic (30.6%), embryonal (26.0%), germ cell (11.1%), ependymoma (30, 7.58%) and craniopharyngioma (27, 6.82%). Outcomes included recurrence rate (31.2%), 1-year OS (89.5%) and 5-year OS (72.2%). Poorer 5-year OS were noted in embryonal tumours (47.0%; p < 0.001) and ependymoma (50.0%; p = 0.0074) patients. Of note, the following cohorts also had poorer OS at 5 years: supratentorial tumours (76.2%; p = 0.0426), radiotherapy (67.4%; p = 0.0467) and surgery (74.9%, HR; p < 0.001). Overall, our data reflects patient demographics, presenting complaints, treatment modalities and survival outcomes, that are comparable to other international paediatric neurosurgical centres.