Tai-Hsin Tsai

A comparative study of the patients with bilateral or unilateral chronic subdural hematoma: precipitating factors and postoperative outcomes.

BACKGROUND : Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a relatively frequent problem in neurologic or neurosurgical practice. Although CSDH is a well-known disease, data on bilateral CSDH are scarce compared with data on unilateral CSDH. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical presentations, precipitating factors, computed tomography (CT) scan findings, postoperative complications, and outcomes between patients with bilateral and unilateral CSDH. METHODS : A retrospective study was performed on 129 surgical patients with CSDH from January 2002 to January 2005. These patients were divided into two groups: bilateral CSDH (45 cases) and unilateral CSDH (84 cases). Clinical presentations, precipitating factors, CT scan findings, postoperative complications, and outcomes of patients were analyzed. RESULTS : The mean age was 75 years for patients with bilateral CSDH and was 68 years for patients with unilateral CSDH (p = 0.696). Males predominated in each group (p = 0.696). The frequency of presenting symptoms of nausea and vomiting, headache, or unsteady gait was significantly greater in bilateral CSDH than in unilateral CSDH (p < 0.05). The incidence of usage of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy was significantly higher in bilateral CSDH group than in unilateral CSDH group (p < 0.05). The frequency of marked midline shift on CT scans was significantly greater in unilateral CSDH than in bilateral CSDH (p < 0.05). Coexisting systemic diseases, postoperative complications, and outcomes had no significant differences between both groups. CONCLUSIONS : Bilateral CSDH tended to occur more in patients with anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. Compared with patients with unilateral CSDH, patients with bilateral CSDH had more symptoms of increased intracranial pressure and lower incidences of midline shift on CT scans. Most patients with either bilateral or unilateral CSDH had a good postoperative outcome.

Assessing the Intraoperative Accuracy of Pedicle Screw Placement by Using a Bone-Mounted Miniature Robot System through Secondary Registration.

Introduction Pedicle screws are commonly employed to restore spinal stability and correct deformities. The Renaissance robotic system was developed to improve the accuracy of pedicle screw placement. Purpose In this study, we developed an intraoperative classification system for evaluating the accuracy of pedicle screw placements through secondary registration. Furthermore, we evaluated the benefits of using the Renaissance robotic system in pedicle screw placement and postoperative evaluations. Finally, we examined the factors affecting the accuracy of pedicle screw implantation. Results Through use of the Renaissance robotic system, the accuracy of Kirschner-wire (K-wire) placements deviating <3 mm from the planned trajectory was determined to be 98.74%. According to our classification system, the robot-guided pedicle screw implantation attained an accuracy of 94.00% before repositioning and 98.74% after repositioning. However, the malposition rate before repositioning was 5.99%; among these placements, 4.73% were immediately repositioned using the robot system and 1.26% were manually repositioned after a failed robot repositioning attempt. Most K-wire entry points deviated caudally and laterally. Conclusion The Renaissance robotic system offers high accuracy in pedicle screw placement. Secondary registration improves the accuracy through increasing the precision of the positioning; moreover, intraoperative evaluation enables immediate repositioning. Furthermore, the K-wire tends to deviate caudally and laterally from the entry point because of skiving, which is characteristic of robot-assisted pedicle screw placement.

Giant Invasive Schwannoma of Cauda Equina with Minimal Neurologic Deficit: A Case Report and Literature Review

A 53‐year‐old man presented with a history of slight weakness in the right lower limb. Giant invasive cauda equina schwannoma was diagnosed according to the criteria of Sridhar et al. Schwannomas are usually benign and common tumors arising from nerve sheath cells, particularly from sensory nerves. Giant invasive schwannomas, however, are rare, and most of patients with them present with severe neurologic deficits independent of daily activity, although in the case presented here, in spite of the large size of the tumor causing pedicle erosion, expansive destruction of the vertebral body and widening of the neural foramina, there were only minimal neurologic deficits. We have therefore decided to report this case, with a review of the relevant English literature emphasizing clinical presentations, plain film images and magnetic resonance image findings of giant invasive cauda equina schwannoma for early diagnosis and differential diagnosis.

Low-grade astrocytoma associated with abscess formation: case report and literature review.

A rare case of low‐grade astrocytoma associated with abscess formation occurred in a 52‐year‐old man presenting with Brocas aphasia. He underwent craniotomy and tumor removal under the impression of brain tumor with necrotic cystic change. Abscess accumulation within the intra‐axial tumor was found intraoperatively. Literature related to brain abscess with brain tumor is reviewed, with an emphasis on abscesses with astrocytoma. We discuss the common brain tumors that are associated with abscess, pathogens that coexist with brain tumor, and the pathogeneses of coexisting brain abscess and tumor. It is very important to know how to differentiate between and diagnose a brain abscess and tumor, or brain abscess with tumor, preoperatively from clinical presentation and through the use of computed tomography, conventional magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion‐weighted imaging or magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Plasma levels of transforming growth factor-beta 1 before and after removal of low- and high-grade astrocytomas.

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) has been reported to be a possible marker for a number of tumors, including brain tumors. The aim of this study was to measure the plasma levels of TGF-β1 in patients with low- and high-grade astrocytomas before and after surgery. This prospective study included 14 patients with low-grade astrocytomas and 25 with high-grade astrocytomas who underwent tumor removal and 13 controls (patients who underwent cranioplasty for skull bone defects). Plasma levels of TGF-β1 were measured in all subjects using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that when the level of TGF-β1 before tumor removal was ≥ 2.52 ng/ml, astrocytoma was predicted with a sensitivity of 94.9% and specificity of 100%. The mean plasma level of TGF-β1 in both the low-grade and high-grade astrocytoma groups significantly decreased after tumor removal (p<0.05); there was no significant change in TGF-β1 plasma level of the controls following surgery. Patients with high-grade astrocytomas had a significantly higher mortality rate than patients with low-grade astrocytomas (p=0.019) and significantly shorter survival (p=0.008). A positive correlation between TGF-β1 level after tumor removal and tumor volume was only found in the high-grade astrocytoma group (γ=0.597, p=0.002). The findings show that plasma TGF-β1 level was increased in patients with low-grade and high-grade astrocytoma, and that the levels significantly decreased after tumor removal in both groups. The results provide additional evidence that TGF-β1 might be useful as a tumor marker for astrocytomas.

Idiopathic spontaneous intraspinal intramedullary hemorrhage: A report of two cases and literature review

Spontaneous intraspinal intramedullary hemorrhage is a rare isease that usually presents as myelopathy. There are limited umbers of reports in the literature, and most of them were caused y vascular lesions, tumors or anticoagulant treatment. A few cases ave occurred with unknown etiology [1–5]. We present two cases f idiopathic spontaneous intramedullary hemorrhage and review he reported literature.

Increased Risk of Osteoporosis in Patients With Peptic Ulcer Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

AbstractTo investigate osteoporosis risk in patients with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) using a nationwide population-based dataset.This Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) analysis included 27,132 patients aged 18 years and older who had been diagnosed with PUD (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification [ICD-9-CM] codes 531–534) during 1996 to 2010. The control group consisted of 27,132 randomly selected (age- and gender)-matched patients without PUD. The association between PUD and the risk of developing osteoporosis was estimated using a Cox proportional hazard regression model.During the follow-up period, osteoporosis was diagnosed in 2538 (9.35 %) patients in the PUD group and in 2259 (8.33 %) participants in the non-PUD group. After adjusting for covariates, osteoporosis risk was 1.85 times greater in the PUD group compared to the non-PUD group (13.99 vs 5.80 per 1000 person-years, respectively). Osteoporosis developed 1 year after PUD diagnosis. The 1-year follow-up period exhibited the highest significance between the 2 groups (hazard ratio [HR] = 63.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 28.19–142.74, P < 0.001). Osteoporosis risk was significantly higher in PUD patients with proton-pump-inhibitors (PPIs) use (HR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.03–1.34) compared to PUD patients without PPIs use.This study revealed a significant association between PUD and subsequent risk of osteoporosis. Therefore, PUD patients, especially those treated with PPIs, should be evaluated for subsequent risk of osteoporosis to minimize the occurrence of adverse events.

Posterior epidural migration of sequestrated lumbar disc fragments into the bilateral facet joints: case report.

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE Symptomatic lumbar disc herniation is common. Migration of a free disc fragment is usually found in rostral, caudal, or lateral directions. Posterior epidural migration is very rare. We report the first case with posterior epidural migration and sequestration into bilateral facet joints of a free disc fragment. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 78-year-old female presented with low back pain and right leg pain. Plain radiographs showed lumbar spondylolisthesis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a posterior epidural mass and intrafacet mass, which was hypointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. The lesion in the left L3-4 facet joint had rim enhancement, whereas the right one was not contrasted after gadolinium injection. Preoperative differential diagnosis included abscess, tumor, hematoma, or synovial cyst. An interbody cage fusion at L3-4 and L4-5 for spondylolisthesis was performed, and a hybrid technique was applied with the Dynesys flexible rod system at L3-S1 for multisegment degenerative disc disease. The lesion proved to be an epidural disc fragment with sequestration into bilateral facet joints. CONCLUSION A free disc fragment should be considered in the differential diagnosis of posterior epidural lesions, and even in the facet joint.

Hip Fracture in People with Erectile Dysfunction: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

The aims of this study were to investigate the risk of hip fracture and contributing factors in patients with erectile dysfunction(ED). This population-based study was performed using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The analysis included4636 patients aged ≥ 40 years who had been diagnosed with ED (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes 302.72, 607.84) during 1996–2010. The control group included 18,544 randomly selected age-matched patients without ED (1:4 ratio). The association between ED and hip fracture risk was estimated using a Cox proportional hazard regression model. During the follow-up period, 59 (1.27%) patients in the ED group and 140 (0.75%) patients in the non-ED group developed hip fracture. After adjusting for covariates, the overall incidence of hip fracture was 3.74-times higher in the ED group than in the non-ED group (2.03 vs. 0.50 per 1000 person-years, respectively). The difference in the overall incidence of hip fracture was largest during the 3-year follow-up period (hazard ratio = 7.85; 95% confidence interval = 2.94–20.96; P <0.0001). To the best of our knowledge, this nationwide population-based study is the first to investigate the relationship between ED and subsequent hip fracture in an Asian population. The results showed that ED patients had a higher risk of developing hip fracture. Patients with ED, particularly those aged 40–59 years, should undergo bone mineral density examinations as early as possible and should take measures to reduce the risk of falls.

A retrospective study to validate an intraoperative robotic classification system for assessing the accuracy of kirschner wire (K-wire) placements with postoperative computed tomography classification system for assessing the accuracy of pedicle screw placements

AbstractThis purpose of this retrospective study is validation of an intraoperative robotic grading classification system for assessing the accuracy of Kirschner-wire (K-wire) placements with the postoperative computed tomography (CT)-base classification system for assessing the accuracy of pedicle screw placements.We conducted a retrospective review of prospectively collected data from 35 consecutive patients who underwent 176 robotic assisted pedicle screws instrumentation at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital from September 2014 to November 2015. During the operation, we used a robotic grading classification system for verifying the intraoperative accuracy of K-wire placements. Three months after surgery, we used the common CT-base classification system to assess the postoperative accuracy of pedicle screw placements. The distributions of accuracy between the intraoperative robot-assisted and various postoperative CT-based classification systems were compared using kappa statistics of agreement.The intraoperative accuracies of K-wire placements before and after repositioning were classified as excellent (131/176, 74.4% and 133/176, 75.6%, respectively), satisfactory (36/176, 20.5% and 41/176, 23.3%, respectively), and malpositioned (9/176, 5.1% and 2/176, 1.1%, respectively)In postoperative CT-base classification systems were evaluated. No screw placements were evaluated as unacceptable under any of these systems. Kappa statistics revealed no significant differences between the proposed system and the aforementioned classification systems (P <0.001).Our results revealed no significant differences between the intraoperative robotic grading system and various postoperative CT-based grading systems. The robotic grading classification system is a feasible method for evaluating the accuracy of K-wire placements. Using the intraoperative robot grading system to classify the accuracy of K-wire placements enables predicting the postoperative accuracy of pedicle screw placements.