Initial experience in the microsurgical treatment of ruptured brain aneurysms in the endovascular era: characteristics and safety of the learning curve in the first 300 consecutively treated patients.

PURPOSE: Currently, there is an increasing tendency to refer only complex aneurysms for microsurgery. The formation of new neurosurgeons dedicated to open vascular neurosurgery becomes challenging in a situation in which complex aneurysms must be dealt with early in the career, raising questions about the safety of the learning curve. METHODS: We analyzed the characteristics and surgical results of the first 300 consecutively treated patients after subarachnoid hemorrhage by a single neurosurgeon. The incidence of surgical complications and clinical outcomes during the learning curve were analyzed, looking for critical periods regarding patient safety. Microsurgical operative times were also studied. RESULTS: A high frequency of wide-necked aneurysms was observed (70.3%), and, as a result, large (> 10 mm), MCA and paraclinoid aneurysms were overrepresented. A statistically significant correlation between surgical experience and clinical outcomes was observed, with progressive surgical experience resulting in a lower incidence of unfavorable outcomes. We also observed a higher frequency of major surgical complications, unfavorable clinical outcomes, and lower complete occlusion rates among the first 40 patients. Microsurgical operative times progressively and significantly decreased during the learning curve. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a high prevalence of wide-necked aneurysms. Young neurosurgeons must be trained and prepared to deal with these aneurysms early in their careers. Although we observed a decrease in unfavorable results with cumulative surgical experience, the first 40 cases were associated with higher rates of major surgical complications, worse clinical outcomes, and lower complete occlusion rates, indicating that this period may be more critical to patient safety.

Lateral supracerebellar infratentorial approach for a ruptured cerebellomesencephalic fissure arteriovenous malformation resection.

In this surgical video, the authors present a case of a 24-year-old male patient who presented with sudden-onset headache and imbalance. On examination, he had a right-sided dysmetria and was otherwise neurologically intact. MRI showed a right cerebellar hematoma associated with multiple flow voids in the cerebellomesencephalic fissure and an enlarged lateral mesencephalic vein. Preoperative angiogram confirmed an arteriovenous malformation supplied by branches of the superior cerebellar artery. The patient underwent a lateral supracerebellar infratentorial approach for resection of the arteriovenous malformation (AVM). He recovered well from surgery and was discharged home on postoperative day 6. Postoperative angiogram confirmed complete AVM resection. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/tY4Go2n7V80.

Cognitive Dysfunction and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Persons: A Systematic Review.

The aim of this study was to realize a systematic review to identify data reported in the literature involving people infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) with cognitive dysfunctions and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The research was realized in six databases and the selection of studies was performed in two stages. Initially, we searched indexed articles from the following electronic databases: SciELO, MEDLINE, PubMed, HighWire, LILACS, and ScienceDirect. Then the articles were completely read and those that did not meet the eligibility criteria were excluded. Therefore, 5,669 articles were obtained and, of these, 25 were selected. Finally, one article involving people with HCV and cognitive impairment was included in the review. The frequency of the APOE-ɛ4 allele in people with HCV and mild liver disease was significantly lower in those with work memory impairment (p = 0.003) and attention (p = 0.008). This situation differs from other studies that showed an association between ɛ4 allele high frequency and cognitive decline. Thus, studies with larger samples involving people with HCV, cognitive alterations, and SNPs are necessary, in view of the lack of this theme in the literature and the divergences in the findings.