Association Of Neurosurgical Societies Research Articles

Survey of European neurosurgeons\u2019 management of unruptured intracranial aneurysms: inconsistent practice and organization

BackgroundThe discovery of an unruptured intracranial aneurysm creates a dilemma between observation and treatment. Neurosurgeons’ routines for risk assessment and treatment decision-making are unknown. The position of evidence-based medicine in European neurosurgery is considered to be weak, high-grade guidelines do not exist and variations between institutions are probable. We aimed to explore European neurosurgeons’ management routines for newly discovered unruptured intracranial aneurysms.MethodsIn cooperation with the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS), we conducted an online, cross-sectional survey of 420 European neurosurgeons during Spring/Summer 2016 (1533 non-Norwegians invited through the EANS, and 16 Norwegians invited through heads of departments because of the need for additional information for a separate study). We asked about demographic variables, routines for management and risk assessment of newly discovered unruptured intracranial aneurysms and presented a case. We collected information about gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from the International Monetary Fund.ResultsThe response rate to the invite from the EANS was 26%, with respondents from 47 countries. More than half of the respondents (n = 226 [54%]) reported that their department treated less than 25 unruptured aneurysms yearly. Forty percent said their department used aneurysm size cut-off to guide treatment decisions, with a mean size of 6 mm. Presented with a case, respondents from countries with a lower GDP per capita recommended intervention more often than respondents from higher-income countries. Vascular neurosurgeons more commonly recommended observation.ConclusionThe answers to this self-reported survey indicate that many centers have a treatment volume lower than recommended by international guidelines, and that there are socioeconomic differences in care. Better documentation of treatment and outcome, for example with clinical quality registries, is needed to drive improvements of care.

Course review: European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) training course

Course review: European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) training course

The beginnings of Acta Neurochirurgica and the work of Fritz Loew, chief editor from 1958 – 1997. An historical vignette

Acta Neurochirurgica was founded in 1950, in the difficult time after World War II, by Mario Milletti (Bologna) and Wolfram Sorgo (Innsbruck), and published by Springer press, Vienna. From the beginning the new journal was conceived as an international journal with an impressive list of outstanding neurosurgeons in the editorial board. Only a few years later the issues appeared at irregular intervals due to individual problems of both editors. Wilhelm Tönnis took the initiative to keep the journal alive, when he asked-in consent with Springer press-his staff member Fritz Loew to continue the editorial work and to assemble a new prestigious editorial board. Loew succeeded with both tasks and remained editor-in-chief for nearly 38 years. Initially, all papers were published in the native languages of the authors: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. With ongoing time the journal accepted manuscripts in English only. The slow progress of this process exemplifies the slow integration of the European countries. In 1971, at the founding meeting of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) in Prague, Acta Neurochirurgica became the official organ of the EANS. Right from the beginning of Acta Neurochirurgica, Supplement volumes were added. Also, the book series Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery is an offspring of Acta Neurochirurgica. Acta Neurochirurgica has become one of the most important neurosurgical journals worldwide. This historical sketch is based on an interview with Fritz Loew, now 91 years old, to which data from the available literature and the Archives of German Neurosurgery, as well as personal information by several colleagues were added.

J. D. Pickard, N. Akalan, V. Bener Jr., C. Di Rocco, V. V. Dolenc, J. Lobo Antunes, J. Schramm, M Sindou (eds) Advances and Technical Standards in neurosurgery, volume 35: low-grade gliomas

Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery is a book series sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. Its main objective is to provide an update of topics of our specialty in which recent advances have been made. The 35th volume is dedicated to review the latest advances in image techniques, molecular neuropathology, and treatment and prognosis of low-grade gliomas by getting a useful and updated consulting tool.

Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery, Vol. 34

This series of books is sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies and, according to the editors, should be of interest to both experienced neurosurgeons and neurosurgeons in training. These volumes are all published in English and start with an Advances section, which is

Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Surgical Introduction of Intracranial Ventricular Shunts

Background Systemic antibiotics and antibiotic-impregnated shunt systems are often used to prevent shunt infection. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of either prophylactic systemic antibiotics or antibiotic-impregnated shunt systems for preventing infection in patients who underwent surgical introduction of intracranial ventricular shunts. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS and the meeting proceedings from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and from the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies, until June 2005. Selection criteria We included randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials comparing the use of prophylactic antibiotics (either systemic or antibiotic-impregnated shunt systems) in intracranial ventricular shunt procedures with placebo or no antibiotics. Data collection and analysis Two authors appraised quality and extracted data independently. Main results We included seventeen trials with overall 2134 participants. We performed two separate meta-analyses: one that evaluated the use of systemic prophylactic antibiotics and another that evaluated the use of antibiotic-impregnated systems. All studies included shunt infection in their primary outcome. We could not analyse all-cause mortality regarding systemic antibiotics due to lack of data. No significant differences were found (odds ratio (OR): 1.47, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.83 to 2.62) for this outcome regarding the use of antibiotic-impregnated catheters compared with standard ones. The use of systemic antibiotic prophylaxis and the use of antibiotic-impregnated catheters were associated with a decrease in shunt infection (OR: 0.52, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.74 and OR: 0.21, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.55 respectively). We found no significant benefit for shunt revision in both meta-analyses that evaluated systemic antibiotics and impregnated-shunt systems. We found no significant differences between the subgroups evaluated: type of shunt (internal/external, ventriculoperitoneal/ventriculoatrial), age and duration of the administration of antibiotics. Authors' conclusions We could demonstrate a benefit of systemic prophylactic antibiotics for the first 24 hours postoperatively to prevent shunt infection, regardless of the patient's age and the type of internal shunt used. The benefit of its use after this period remains uncertain. However this data derives from the rate of shunt infection, which is an intermediary outcome. Future trials should evaluate the effectiveness of different regimens of systemic antibiotics rather than placebo, and should include all-cause mortality, shunt revision and adverse events as additional outcomes. Evidence suggests that antibiotic-impregnated catheters reduce the incidence of shunt infection although more well-designed clinical trials testing the effect of antibiotic-impregnated shunts are required to confirm their net benefit.

Winter meeting 2004 of European association of neurosurgical societies, Budapest, Hungary, 27-29 February, 2004.

Winter meeting 2004 of European association of neurosurgical societies, Budapest, Hungary, 27-29 February, 2004.

The European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)--a personal view.

The European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)--a personal view.

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)

AESCULAP Prize for Neurosurgical Research of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)

Getting connected: the Internet as a new resource for the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies.

Getting connected: the Internet as a new resource for the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies.

European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. Seventeenth European Lecture. Taormina, Italy, February 24th, 1996.

Once upon a time there was a child who went to the Jesuits school of Barcelona. There he was told that the correct thing to do at the end of each week was to retrospectively evaluate right and wrong of the week gone. Right should be kept as a positive gain, but without excessive glorification. Wrong had to be analysed before adopting a final decision, since on occasions and when properly spiced up it could be highly beneficial. Only for the hopelessly wrong the answer was an act of contrition. It was certainly good advice, but there were plenty of far more fascinating things to do on a Saturday! The boy grew up, he went to medical school and later on became a neurosurgeon. And today he is addressing to you the seventeenth European Lecture of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS). Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, my dear friends. I am very much aware of the great distinction it is to be asked to give this Lecture. I am very honoured, indeed. But beyond going any further let me stand to give homage to the neurosurgeon who began the saga of all these Lectures, the inaugural European Lecturer, an outstanding man and a very dear friend, Douglas J. Miller. The EANS lost at the end of last August a modest giant, a solid scientist, a skillful surgeon and a much loved educator. I remember that my first duty as former President of our Association was to attend the European Course in Neurosurgery orga-

Neurosurgery and biology of meningiomas Proceedings of a Symposium Organized by the Research Committee of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) in Schloss Fuschl, Salzburg, February 4?6, 1994

Neurosurgery and biology of meningiomas Proceedings of a Symposium Organized by the Research Committee of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) in Schloss Fuschl, Salzburg, February 4?6, 1994

Future EANS training programs and certification.

Postgraduate education is always complex and expensive. Single European countries have their own postgraduate neurosurgical training programs. Since the foundation of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) in 1971 iri Prague, the idea of European training courses for young neurosurgeons has started and developed. Neurosurgical training in Europe was studied and an overview given by Pia [2] in 1983 and Isamat in 1984 [1], concerning both the ideal form of a neurosurgical training center (a neurosurgical department) and the postgraduate neurosurgical education in the individual nations of Europe. The optimum conditions and requirements are very different throughout Europe [1, 2]. It was felt necessary that all young neurosurgeons be trained in uniform way. The courses began in 1974 in Brussels. A cycle of 5 years was chosen and followed over the next 20 years. The courses developed very rapidly from only lectures to a mixture of lectures and workshops and progressed further to "solve a case" and "video" sessions, ending up with "how I do it" rounds. This development provided feedback and improvements. The courses immediately grew popular and the number of annual trainees increased from 60 in 1974 to 218 in 1991 (Zaragossa). With the increasing number of trainees and even more applicants (Fig. 1) a lot of new problems arose both for the EANS Administrative Council (AC) and for the Training Committee (TC). Over the years European Arab courses have also been given [1, 2], many of them with great success for young Arabic neurosurgeons. During the last decade, the idea of a sort of certification also came up, and a committee preparing the rules and regulations concerning the establishment of a European Board of Neurosurgery (Braakman) was built up under the auspices of the AC of EANS. A tentative European Board written examination was first arranged at the Vice President's Costs Low costs Good quality All trainees

Fourteen years to achieve the laying of the foundation of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS): Brussels (1957)--Madrid (1967)--Prague (1971).

Fourteen years to achieve the laying of the foundation of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS): Brussels (1957)--Madrid (1967)--Prague (1971).

European Association of Neurosurgical Societies ? Constitution

European Association of Neurosurgical Societies ? Constitution

The European spirit and the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS).

The European spirit and the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS).

European Association of Neurosurgical Societies Second European Lecture Brussels, 30 January 1981 Operability in Neurosurgery

European Association of Neurosurgical Societies Second European Lecture Brussels, 30 January 1981 Operability in Neurosurgery