1,721,234 research outputs found
Clinical benefit from resection of recurrent glioblastomas: results of a multicenter study including 503 patients with recurrent glioblastomas undergoing surgical resection.
No full textBACKGROUND
While standards for the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastomas exist, therapeutic regimens for tumor recurrence remain mostly individualized. The role of a surgical resection of recurrent glioblastomas remains largely unclear at present. This study aimed to assess the effect of repeated resection of recurrent glioblastomas on patient survival.
METHODS
In a multicenter retrospective-design study, patients with primary glioblastomas undergoing repeat resections for recurrent tumors were evaluated for factors affecting survival. Age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), extent of resection (EOR), tumor location, and complications were assessed.
RESULTS
Five hundred and three patients (initially diagnosed between 2006 and 2010) undergoing resections for recurrent glioblastoma at 20 institutions were included in the study. The patients' median overall survival after initial diagnosis was 25.0 months and 11.9 months after first re-resection. The following parameters were found to influence survival significantly after first re-resection: preoperative and postoperative KPS, EOR of first re-resection, and chemotherapy after first re-resection. The rate of permanent new deficits after first re-resection was 8%.
CONCLUSION
The present study supports the view that surgical resections of recurrent glioblastomas may help to prolong patient survival at an acceptable complication rate
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Involuntary ambulatory triage during the COVID-19 pandemic – A neurosurgical perspective
No full textBACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge to health-care systems around the world. As approximately one-third of the world´s population is living under “lockdown” conditions, medical resources are being reallocated and hospital admissions are limited to emergencies. We examined the decision-making impact of these actions and their effects on access to hospital treatment in patients with neurosurgical conditions. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzes hospital admissions of two major neurosurgical services in Germany during the nationwide lockdown period (March 16th to April 16th, 2020). Spinal or cranial conditions requiring immediate hospital admission and treatment constituted emergencies. RESULTS: A total of 243 in-patients were treated between March 16th and April 16th 2020 (122 patients at the University Medical Center Mainz, 121 patients at the University Medical Center Göttingen). Of these, 38.0±16% qualified as emergency admission. Another 1,688 admissions were reviewed during the same periods in 2018 and 2019, providing a frame of reference. Overall, emergency admissions declined by 44.7±0.7% during lockdown. Admissions for cranial emergencies fell by 48.1±4.44%, spinal emergencies by 30.9±14.6%. CONCLUSION: Above findings indicate that in addition to postponing elective procedures, emergency admissions were dramatically curtailed during the COVID-19 lockdown. As this surely is unexpected and unintended, reasons are undoubtedly complex. As consequences in morbidity and mortality are still unpredictable, efforts should be made to accommodate all patients in need of hospital access going forward
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Assessment of pre- and postoperative cognitive function (attention) in patients undergoing surgical treatment of benign intracranial lesions
Full text linkDie Arbeit untersucht neurokognitive Funktionen prä- und postoperativ bei Patienten mit einer benignen intrakraniellen Raumforderung. 80 Probanden (N0=80) wurden vor und nach (N1=58) einer neurochirurgischen Operation in den drei Untertests ‚Alertness‘, ‚Geteilte Aufmerksamkeit‘ und ‚Neglect mit zentraler Aufgaben‘ der Testbatterie für Aufmerksamkeitsprüfung (TAP, Version 2.1.) getestet, wenn sie zuvor im Einstufungstest MMST mindestens 19 Punkte erreicht hatten. Durch fehlende signifikante Unterschiede prä- zu postoperativ lässt sich zeigen, dass der operative Eingriff nur einen geringen Einfluss auf die Neurokognition hat.The study aims at identifying differences in neurocognitive functions pre- and postoperative in patients with benign intracranial lesions undergoing neurosurgical treatment. The test persons have been examined pre- (N80) and postoperative (58) in the three subtests ‚Alertness‘, ‚Divided Attention‘ und ‚Visual Field: With central task‘ of the TAP (TAP, Version 2.1.), after having achieved minimum 19 credits in the level-testing MMST. The study has found no significant differences in pre- and postoperative comparison, which suggests that the impact of neurosurgical treatment is rather low
Pre-operative Scoring Systems and Prognostic Factors in Spinal Metastasization
No full textDas Ziel dieser Dissertationsarbeit war es, den prognostischen Einfluss verschiedener Faktoren auf das Überleben von Patienten mit spinaler Metastasierung zu analysieren und die Vorhersagekraft des Oswestry Spinal Risk Index (OSRI) extern zu validieren. Daten von insgesamt 211 Patienten wurden erfasst und analysiert. Als stärkste prognostische Faktoren konnten wir den präoperativen Allgemeinzustand (Karnofsky Index), die primäre Tumorentität sowie das Vorliegen viszeraler Metastasen detektieren. Es zeigte sich, dass der OSRI ein gutes Hilfsmittel zur Einschätzung der Lebenserwartung von Patienten mit spinalen, operationsbedürftigen Metastasen darstellt.The objective of this dissertation was to analyze the prognostic effect of various factors on the survival of patients with spinal metastases and to externally validate the predictive value of the Oswestry Spinal Risk Index (OSRI). Data from a total of 211 patients were collected and analyzed. The strongest prognostic factors detected were the pre-operative general condition (Karnofsky index), the primary tumor entity, and the presence of visceral metastases. The OSRI was found to be a good instrument for estimating the life expectancy of patients with spinal metastases requiring surgery
Personality traits of patients with neuroepithelial brain tumors
No full textVorrangiges Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die Persönlichkeitsmerkmale von Patienten mit neuroepithelialen Tumoren zu untersuchen. 73 Patienten mit neuroepithelialen Tumoren bearbeiteten präoperativ, postoperativ (N=45), nach drei (N=24) und neun Monaten (N=13) die Fragebögen NEO-FFI, SF36 und BDI-II, nachdem sie im Einstufungstest MMST ≥ 19 Punkte erzielten. Eine Kernaussage ist die Divergenz der Patienten von der Normalbevölkerung in dem Fragebogen NEO-FFI bezüglich des Merkmals Offenheit für Erfahrungen.Main goal of the study is to analyze the personality traits of patients with neuroepithelial brain tumors. 73 patients participated in the study preoperative, postoperative (N=45), after three (N=24) and nine months (N=13) and filled out the questionnaires NEO-FFI, SF36 and BDI-II after having achieved ≥ 19 points in the entry level test MMST. One quintessence of this work is the deviating result of the patients compared to the general public concerning the trait openness in the questionnaire NEO-FFI
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