Object Pituitary tumors are abnormal growths that develop in the pituitary gland. The Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States (CBTRUS) contains the largest aggregation of population-based data on the incidence of primary CNS tumors in the US. These data were used to determine the incidence of tumors of the pituitary and associated trends between 2004 and 2009. Methods Using incidence data from 49 population-based state cancer registries, 2004–2009, age-adjusted incidence rates per 100,000 population for pituitary tumors with ICD-O-3 (International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition) histology codes 8040, 8140, 8146, 8246, 8260, 8270, 8271, 8272, 8280, 8281, 8290, 8300, 8310, 8323, 9492 (site C75.1 only), and 9582 were calculated overall and by patient sex, race, Hispanic ethnicity, and age at diagnosis. Corresponding annual percent change (APC) scores and 95% confidence intervals were also calculated using Joinpoint to characterize trends in incidence rates over time. Diagnostic confirmation by subregion of the US was also examined. Results The overall annual incidence rate increased from 2.52 (95% CI 2.46–2.58) in 2004 to 3.13 (95% CI 3.07–3.20) in 2009. Associated time trend yielded an APC of 4.25% (95% CI 2.91%–5.61%). When stratifying by patient sex, the annual incidence rate increased from 2.42 (95% CI 2.33–2.50) to 2.94 (95% CI 2.85–3.03) in men and 2.70 (95% CI 2.62–2.79) to 3.40 (95% CI 3.31–3.49) in women, with APCs of 4.35% (95% CI 3.21%–5.51%) and 4.34% (95% CI 2.23%–6.49%), respectively. When stratifying by race, the annual incidence rate increased from 2.31 (95% CI 2.25–2.37) to 2.81 (95% CI 2.74–2.88) in whites, 3.99 (95% CI 3.77–4.23) to 5.31 (95% CI 5.06–5.56) in blacks, 1.77 (95% CI 1.26–2.42) to 2.52 (95% CI 1.96–3.19) in American Indians or Alaska Natives, and 1.86 (95% CI 1.62–2.13) to 2.03 (95% CI 1.80–2.28) in Asians or Pacific Islanders, with APCs of 3.91% (95% CI 2.88%–4.95%), 5.25% (95% CI 3.19%–7.36%), 5.31% (95% CI –0.11% to 11.03%), and 2.40% (95% CI –3.20% to 8.31%), respectively. When stratifying by Hispanic ethnicity, the annual incidence rate increased from 2.46 (95% CI 2.40–2.52) to 3.03 (95% CI 2.97–3.10) in non-Hispanics and 3.12 (95% CI 2.91–3.34) to 4.01 (95% CI 3.80–4.24) in Hispanics, with APCs of 4.15% (95% CI 2.67%–5.65%) and 5.01% (95% CI 4.42%–5.60%), respectively. When stratifying by age at diagnosis, the incidence of pituitary tumor was highest for those 65–74 years old and lowest for those 15–24 years old, with corresponding overall age-adjusted incidence rates of 6.39 (95% CI 6.24–6.54) and 1.56 (95% CI 1.51–1.61), respectively. Conclusions In this large patient cohort, the incidence of pituitary tumors reported between 2004 and 2009 was found to increase. Possible explanations for this increase include changes in documentation, changes in the diagnosis and registration of these tumors, improved diagnostics, improved data collection, increased awareness of pituitary diseases among physicians and the public, longer life expectancies, and/or an actual increase in the incidence of these tumors in the US population.

OBJECTIVE The field of neurosurgery is constantly undergoing improvements and advances, both in technique and technology. Cerebrovascular neurosurgery is no exception, with endovascular treatments changing the treatment paradigm. Clipping of aneurysms is still necessary, however, and advances are still being made to improve patient outcomes within the microsurgical treatment of aneurysms. Surgical rehearsal platforms are surgical simulators that offer the opportunity to rehearse a procedure prior to entering the operative suite. This study is designed to determine whether use of a surgical rehearsal platform in aneurysm surgery is helpful in decreasing aneurysm dissection time and clip manipulation of the aneurysm. METHODS The authors conducted a blinded, prospective, randomized study comparing key effort and time variables in aneurysm clip ligation surgery with and without preoperative use of the SuRgical Planner (SRP) surgical rehearsal platform. Initially, 40 patients were randomly assigned to either of two groups: one in which surgery was performed after use of the SRP (SRP group) and one in which surgery was performed without use of the SRP (control group). All operations were videotaped. After exclusion of 6 patients from the SRP group and 9 from the control group, a total of 25 surgical cases were analyzed by a reviewer blinded to group assignment. The videos were analyzed for total microsurgical time, number of clips used, and number of clip placement attempts. Means and standard deviations (SDs) were calculated and compared between groups. RESULTS The mean (± SD) amount of operative time per clip used was 920 ± 770 seconds in the SRP group and 1294 ± 678 seconds in the control group (p = 0.05). In addition, the mean values for the number of clip attempts, total operative time, ratio of clip attempts to clips used, and time per clip attempt were all lower in the SRP group, although the between-group differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative rehearsal with SRP increased efficiency and safety in aneurysm microsurgery as demonstrated by the statistically significant improvement in time per clip used. Although the rest of the outcomes did not demonstrate statistically significant between-group differences, the fact that the SRP group showed improvement in mean values for all measures studied suggests that preoperative rehearsal may increase the efficiency and safety of aneurysm microsurgery. Future studies aimed at improving patient outcome and safety during surgical clipping of aneurysms will be needed to keep pace with the quickly advancing endovascular field.

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> Our study aims to evaluate the impact of a stay-at-home order on stroke metrics during the 2019-novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Data on baseline characteristics, stroke subtype, initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, the time between last known well (LKW) to emergency department (ED) arrival, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administration, the involvement of large vessel occlusion (LVO), and whether mechanical thrombectomy (MT) was pursued in patients with acute stroke were extracted from 24 March to 23 April 2020 (the time period of a stay-at-home order was placed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the study group) at a tertiary care hospital in West Michigan, USA, compared with data from 24 March to 23 April 2019 (control group). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Our study demonstrated a reduction in cases of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), although this did not reach statistical significance. However, there was an increase in hemorrhagic stroke (7.5% controls vs. 19.2% study group). The age of stroke patients was significantly younger during the period of the stay-at-home order compared to the control group. We identified a significant overall delay of ED arrivals from LKW in the study group. Additionally, an increased number of AIS patients with LVO in the study group (34.8%) was found compared to the control group (17.5%). A significantly increased number of patients received MT in the study group. Additionally, 11 patients were COVID-19 PCR-positive in the study group, 10 with AIS and only 1 with hemorrhagic stroke. Patients with COVID-19 had a high incidence of atrial fibrillation and hyperlipidemia. One AIS patient with COVID-19 rapidly developed cytotoxic edema with corresponding elevated inflammatory biomarkers. No statistical significance was noted when stroke subtype, LVO, and MT groups were compared. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> There was a trend of decreasing AIS admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was also a significantly increased number of AIS patients with LVO who received MT, especially those with COVID-19. We conclude that cytokine storm resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection might play a role in AIS patients with COVID-19.