We studied 590 asymptomatic villagers aged > or =40 years in Liangbei County in central rural China and found 41 subjects (prevalence 6.9%) with intracranial atherosclerosis. In a multivariate analysis, the significant risk factors for intracranial stenosis were hypertension (OR 2.53; 95% CI 1.12 to 5.72), glycosuria (OR 3; 1.19 to 7.97), heart disease (OR 4; 1.39 to 11.6), and family history of stroke (OR 5.2; 1.38 to 20). Intracranial atherosclerosis is not uncommon among asymptomatic Chinese subjects.

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OBJECTIVEMany studies have aimed to determine the most clinically effective surgical intervention for hydrocephalus. However, the costs associated with each treatment option are poorly understood. In this study, the authors conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis, calculating the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS), endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), and ETV with choroid plexus cauterization (ETV/CPC) in an effort to better understand the clinical effectiveness and costs associated with treating hydrocephalus.METHODSThe study cohort includes patients under the age of 18 who were initially treated for hydrocephalus between January 2012 and January 2015 at the authors’ institution. Overall treatment costs were calculated using patient-level hospitalization costs and professional fees reimbursable to the hospital and directly related to the initial and follow-up (postoperative day 1 to 12 months) treatment of hydrocephalus. TreeAge Pro was used to conduct the cost-effectiveness analyses.RESULTSA total of 147 patients were identified. Based on the initial intervention for hydrocephalus, their cases were classified as follows: 113 VPS, 14 ETV, and 20 ETV/CPC. During the initial intervention, VPS patients required a longer length of stay at 5.6 days, compared to ETV/CPC (3.35 days) and ETV (2.36 days) patients. Failure rates for all treatment options ranged from 29% to 45%, leading to recurrent hydrocephalus and additional surgical intervention between postoperative day 1 and 12 months. Cost-effectiveness analyses found ETV to be less costly and more clinically effective, with an ICER of $94,797 compared to VPS ($130,839) and ETV/CPC ($126,394). However, when stratified by etiology, VPS was found to be more clinically effective and cost-effective in both the myelomeningocele and posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus patient groups with an incremental cost per clinical unit of effectiveness (success or failure of intervention) of $76,620 compared to ETV and ETV/CPC. However, when assessing cases categorized as “other etiologies,” ETV was found to be more cost-effective per clinical unit, with an ICER of $60,061 compared to ETV/CPC ($93,350) and VPS ($142,135).CONCLUSIONSThis study is one of the first attempts at quantifying the patient-level hospitalization costs associated with surgical management of hydrocephalus in pediatric patients treated in the United States. The results indicate that the conversation regarding CSF diversion techniques must be patient-specific and consider etiology as well as any previous surgical intervention. Again, these findings are short-run observations, and a long-term follow-up study should be conducted to assess the cost of treating hydrocephalus over the lifetime of a patient.

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There is evidence that caregiver stress affects psychosocial outcomes of children with craniosynostosis, but no clear trends of either increased or decreased levels of stress were identified in caregivers of children with craniosynostosis. Additional research is needed to identify risk factors related to caregiver stress.

BACKGROUND Sport-related structural brain injury (SRSBI) is intracranial pathology incurred during sport. Management mirrors that of non-sport-related brain injury. An empirical vacuum exists regarding return to play (RTP) following SRSBI. OBJECTIVE To provide key insight for operative management and RTP following SRSBI using a (1) focused systematic review and (2) survey of expert opinions. METHODS A systematic literature review of SRSBI from 2012 to present in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and a cross-sectional survey of RTP in SRSBI by 31 international neurosurgeons was conducted. RESULTS Of 27 included articles out of 241 systematically reviewed, 9 (33.0%) case reports provided RTP information for 12 athletes. To assess expert opinion, 31 of 32 neurosurgeons (96.9%) provided survey responses. For acute, asymptomatic SRSBI, 12 (38.7%) would not operate. Of the 19 (61.3%) who would operate, midline shift (63.2%) and hemorrhage size > 10 mm (52.6%) were the most common indications. Following SRSBI with resolved hemorrhage, with or without burr holes, the majority of experts (>75%) allowed RTP to high-contact/collision sports at 6 to 12 mo. Approximately 80% of experts did not endorse RTP to high-contact/collision sports for athletes with persistent hemorrhage. Following craniotomy for SRSBI, 40% to 50% of experts considered RTP at 6 to 12 mo. Linear regression revealed that experts allowed earlier RTP at higher levels of play (β = –0.58, 95% CI –0.111, –0.005, P = .033). CONCLUSION RTP decisions following structural brain injury in athletes are markedly heterogeneous. While individualized RTP decisions are critical, aggregated expert opinions from 31 international sports neurosurgeons provide key insight. Level of play was found to be an important consideration in RTP determinations.

Context: Care-seeking behaviors for sport-related concussion (SRC) are not consistent across demographic subgroups. These differences may not only stem from health inequities but can further perpetuate disparities in care for SRCs. Objective: To determine whether racial differences exist in the care pathway from injury to SRC clinic within adolescent athletes. Design: Retrospective cohort Setting: Regional SRC center Participants: Of 582 total athletes, 486 (83.5%) White and 96 (16.5%) Black adolescent athletes were diagnosed with SRC and evaluated within 3 months at the SRC clinic. Main Outcome Measures: Race was the defined exposure, dichotomized as Black or White. The four primary outcomes included: 1)location of first health system contact, 2)time from injury to first health system contact 3) time to in-person SRC clinic visit, and 4) whether the athlete established care (>1 visit), was released immediately to an athletic trainer, or lost to follow-up. Results: Black and White athletes mostly presented directly to SRC clinic (61.5% vs 62.3%) at a median[interquartile range] of 3[1,5] vs 4[1,8] days respectively (p=0.821). Similar proportions of Black and White athletes also first presented to the ED (30.2% vs 27.2%) at a median of 0[0,1] vs 0[0,1] days (p=0.941). Black athletes more frequently had care transferred to their athletic trainer (39.6% vs 29.6%) and less frequently established care (56.3% vs 64.0%), however these differences were not statistically significant (p=0.138). Lost to follow-up was uncommon among Black and White athletes alike (4.2% vs 6.4%). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that within an established SRC referral network and multidisciplinary clinic, there were no observed racial disparities in how athletes were initially managed and/or ultimately presented to SRC clinic despite racial differences in school type and insurance coverage. SRC center assimilation and affiliation with school systems may be helpful in improving access and providing equitable care across diverse patient demographics.

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