Incidence and Outcomes of Posterior Circulation Involvement in Moyamoya Disease.

Background: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a progressive, occlusive disease of the internal carotid arteries and their proximal branches, with the subsequent development of an abnormal vascular network that is rupture-prone. Steno-occlusive changes in the posterior cerebral arteries (PCAs) may contribute to worsened outcomes in patients with MMD; however, there is little information on the incidence and natural history of posterior circulation MMD (PCMMD). We describe clinical PCMMD characteristics in a large cohort of patients with MMD.

iSPAN: Explainable prediction of outcomes post thrombectomy with Machine Learning.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a machine learning model and a novel clinical score for predicting outcomes in stroke patients undergoing endovascular thrombectomy.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included all patients aged over 18 years with an anterior circulation stroke treated at a thrombectomy centre from 2010 to 2020 with external validation. The primary outcome was day 90 mRS ≥3.

Women Neurosurgeons Worldwide: Characterizing the Global Female Neurosurgical Workforce.

Background And Objectives: As the global neurosurgical workforce expands, so do the contributions of women neurosurgeons. Recent studies highlighted pioneering women leaders in neurosurgery and provided invaluable perspectives into the proportion of women neurosurgeons in regions across the world. To provide a broad perspective of global trends, this study aims to characterize the global female neurosurgical workforce and evaluate its association with countries' economic status, broader physician workforce, and global gender gap index (GGGI).

Brain AVM surgery without endovascular embolization in a low to middle income country.

We treated a 20-year-old woman in Paraguay with a ruptured intraventricular Spetzler-Martin Grade 3 AVM, and illustrate microsurgical resection without embolization in this video.

Long-term follow-up of neurosurgical outcomes for adult patients in Uganda with traumatic brain injury.

Objective: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Uganda and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Due to the difficulty of long-term in-person follow-up, there is a paucity of literature on longitudinal outcomes of TBI in LMICs. Using a scalable phone-centered survey, this study attempted to investigate factors associated with both mortality and quality of life in Ugandan patients with TBI.

Boda Bodas and Road Traffic Injuries in Uganda: An Overview of Traffic Safety Trends from 2009 to 2017.

Introduction: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are an important contributor to the morbidity and mortality of developing countries. In Uganda, motorcycle taxis, known as boda bodas, are responsible for a growing proportion of RTIs. This study seeks to evaluate and comment on traffic safety trends from the past decade.

Central Nervous System Tumors in Uganda: Outcomes of Surgical Treatment and Complications Assessed Through Telephone Survey.

Background: Uganda has one of the largest unmet neurosurgical needs in the world, but has seen major improvements in neurosurgery-largely centered at Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH). This study implements the first long-term follow-up and outcomes analysis of central nervous system tumor patients in Uganda.

Methods: Inpatient data were collected using a prospective database of patients presenting to the MNRH neurosurgical ward between 2014 and 2015.

Long-term follow-up of pediatric head trauma patients treated at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda.

In Brief: This study used telephone surveys as a novel method of measuring health outcomes and tracking healthcare utilization in pediatric head trauma patients at the national referral hospital in Uganda. As the first-ever long-term follow-up of this patient population in Uganda, this work establishes a baseline of pediatric head trauma outcomes and lays the groundwork for tracking and improving outcomes for similar patients in low-resource settings.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Kessler Scale of Psychological Distress to a traumatic brain injury population in Swahili and the Tanzanian Setting.

Background: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a Swahili version of the Kessler Psychological Distress scale in an injury population in Tanzania.

Methods: Swahili version of the Kessler Psychological Distress scale was developed by translation and back-translation by a panel of native speakers of both English and Swahili. The translated instruments were administered to a sample of Tanzanian adults from a traumatic brain injury registry.

Evaluation of an E-Learning Course for Clubfoot Treatment in Tanzania: A Multicenter Study.

In total, 80% of clubfoot cases occur in low- and middle-income countries, where lack of clinical knowledge of the Ponseti method of treatment presents as a major barrier to treatment. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of an electronic learning course to teach clinicians in Tanzania Ponseti method theory. A total of 30 clinicians were recruited from clinics with high referral rates for clubfoot patients and invited to 1 of 3 training sites: Mbeya (n = 15), Zanzibar (n = 10), and Mwanza (n = 5).

Temporal Delays Along the Neurosurgical Care Continuum for Traumatic Brain Injury Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.

Background: Significant care continuum delays between acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) and definitive surgery are associated with poor outcomes. Use of the "3 delays" model to evaluate TBI outcomes in low- and middle-income countries has not been performed.

Objective: To describe the care continuum, using the 3 delays framework, and its association with TBI patient outcomes in Kampala, Uganda.

Life After the Neurosurgical Ward in Sub-Saharan Africa: Neurosurgical Treatment and Outpatient Outcomes in Uganda.

Background: In the past decade, neurosurgery in Uganda experienced increasing surgical volume and a new residency training program. Although research has examined surgical capacity, minimal data exist on the patient population treated by neurosurgery and their eventual outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: Patients admitted to Mulago National Referral Hospital neurosurgical ward over 2 years (2014 and 2015) were documented in a prospective database.

A prospective neurosurgical registry evaluating the clinical care of traumatic brain injury patients presenting to Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda.

Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is disproportionally concentrated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with the odds of dying from TBI in Uganda more than 4 times higher than in high income countries (HICs). The objectives of this study are to describe the processes of care and determine risk factors predictive of poor outcomes for TBI patients presenting to Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH), Kampala, Uganda.

Methods: We used a prospective neurosurgical registry based on Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) to systematically collect variables spanning 8 categories.

Commentary: Treatment Considerations for Patients With Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases in the Era of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors.

Brain metastasis is a serious complication of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) affecting up to 40% of NSCLC patients. A subset of NSCLC tumors has mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, and determination of tumor EGFR mutation status is essential in guiding treatment decisions, as it directly affects the treatment approach. Patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC have a higher cumulative incidence of brain metastases, and are especially sensitive to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).