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Introduction Chronic subdural haematomas (CSDHs) are one of the most common neurosurgical conditions. The goal of surgery is to alleviate symptoms and minimise the risk of symptomatic recurrences. In the past, reoperation rates as high as 20%–30% were described for CSDH recurrences. However, following the introduction of subdural drainage, reoperation rates dropped to approximately 10%. The standard surgical technique includes burr-hole craniostomy, followed by intraoperative irrigation and placement of subdural drainage. Yet, the role of intraoperative irrigation has not been established. If there is no difference in recurrence rates between intraoperative irrigation and no irrigation, CSDH surgery could be carried out faster and more safely by omitting the step of irrigation. The aim of this multicentre randomised controlled trial is to study whether no intraoperative irrigation and subdural drainage results in non-inferior outcome compared with intraoperative irrigation and subdural drainage following burr-hole craniostomy of CSDH. Methods and analysis This is a prospective, randomised, controlled, parallel group, non-inferiority multicentre trial comparing single burr-hole evacuation of CSDH with intraoperative irrigation and evacuation of CSDH without irrigation. In both groups, a passive subdural drain is used for 48 hours as a standard of treatment. The primary outcome is symptomatic CSDH recurrence requiring reoperation within 6 months. The predefined non-inferiority margin for the primary outcome is 7.5%. To achieve a 2.5% level of significance and 80% power, we will randomise 270 patients per group. Secondary outcomes include modified Rankin Scale, rate of mortality, duration of operation, length of hospital stay, adverse events and change in volume of CSDH. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the institutional review board of the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS/3035/2019 §238) and duly registered at ClinicalTrials. gov. We will disseminate the findings of this study through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identification of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) as the major risk factor for cervical neoplasia, and mass production of DNA free HPV capsids have paved the way to preventive vaccination trials. Design of such trials requires reliable attack rate data.Objective: Determination of (1) HPV16 and (2) cervical neoplasia attack rates in primiparous women. Estimation of actuarial sample sizes for HPV16 vaccination phase IV trials.Design: A longitudinal cohort study.Methods: Population based Finnish Maternity Cohort (FMC) and Finnish Cancer Registry (FCR) were linked for the identification of two cohorts of primiparous women: (1) a random subsample of the FMC: 1656 women with two pregnancies between 1983-9 or 1990-6 and living in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and (2) all 72,791 primiparous women living in the same area during 1983-94. Attack rate for persistent HPV16 infection (1) was estimated in 1279 seronegative women by proportion of seroconversions between the first and the second pregnancy. Comparable 10 year cumulative incidence rate (CR) of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III and cervical cancer (CIN III+) (2) was estimated based on cases registered at the FCR during 1991-4.Results: The HPV16 attack rates were 13.8% (< 18 years), 7.0% (18-19 years), 2.3% (21 years), 2.4% (23 years), and 4.5% (< 25 years). Number of vaccinees required for a 5 year efficacy trial with persistent HPV16 infection as the end point ranged between 1000 and 3900, assuming 80% power, 90%-70% vaccine efficacy (VE), and misclassification. The CRs of CIN III+ were 0.33% (< 18 years), 0.44% (18-19 years), 0.21% (20-24 years), and 0.28% (< 25 years). Number of vaccinees required for a 10 year efficacy trial with HPV16 positive CIN III+ as the end point was 15,000 assuming 80% power, 90% VE, and 75% aetiological fraction of CIN III+ for HPV16.Conclusions: The attack rates of HPV16 and CIN III+ identify primiparous women under 25 years of age among target populations for postnatal HPV vaccination at phase II/III trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) patients have an excess mortality proportion in long-term outcome studies because of the high rate of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular deaths. The aim of the present study was to assess the excess long-term mortality among patients with unruptured aneurysms with no previous SAH and to compare excess mortality after coiling, clipping and without treatment., Methods: Between 1989 and 1999, a total of 1294 patients with intracranial aneurysms were admitted to our hospital. Of these, 1154 had previous SAH and were excluded leaving 140 patients with 178 intracranial unruptured aneurysms as the study population. The patients were followed up until death or by the end of April 2011. Causes of death were determined. Relative survival ratios (RSRs) were calculated and compared with the matched general population., Results: Mean follow-up time was 13 years (range 1-19). During the follow-up period, 36% of patients died. Death was caused by cerebrovascular event in half of the cases. There were 12% excess mortality at 15 years in men and 35% excess mortality in women compared with general population. Excess mortality among women over 50 years was significantly higher than that among men (p=0.018)., Conclusions: Patients with untreated unruptured aneurysms have 50% excess long-term mortality compared with general population. Men with treated unruptured aneurysms have a survival proportion comparable with matched general population. Women, instead, have 28% excess mortality after surgical treatment and 23% excess mortality after endovascular treatment of unruptured aneurysms.