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Background In the United States, nearly 25,000 patients annually undergo percutaneous ventriculostomy for the management of increased intracranial pressure with little consensus on extraventricular drain management. To characterize relationships between external ventricular drain management, permanent ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement, and hospital disposition, we hypothesized that patients requiring extended drainage would have greater association with ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement and unfavorable disposition. Methods Adult patients admitted to the Duke University Hospital Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit between 2008 and 2010 with extraventricular drains were analyzed. A total of 115 patient encounters were assessed to determine relative impact of age, sex, days of extraventricular placement, weaning attempts, cerebrospinal fluid drainage volumes, Glasgow Coma Scale, and physician’s experience on disposition at discharge and ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement. Univariate logistic regression was first used to test the effect of each variable on the outcome, followed by backward selection to determine a final multivariable logistic regression. Variables in the final model meeting p < 0.05 were declared as significant factors for the outcome. Results Increased extraventricular drain duration (odds ratio [OR] = 1.17, confidence interval [CI] = 1.05–1.30, p = 0.0049) was associated with ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement, while older age (OR = 1.05, CI = 1.02–1.08, p = 0.0027) and less physician extraventricular drain management experience (OR = 4.04, CI = 1.67–9.79, p = 0.0020) were associated with unfavorable disposition. Conclusion In a small cohort, exploratory analyses demonstrate potentially modifiable factors are associated with important clinical outcomes. These findings warrant further study to refine how such factors affect patient outcomes.

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is an acute trauma to the neural elements resulting in temporary or permanent sensory and motor deficit. Studies have indicated that although 66% of SCI occur in Caucasians, there are a growing number of other racial groups affected by SCI. Furthermore, there has been a lack of research concerning racial disparities in outcomes following SCI. As such, a retrospective analysis using the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) from 2000 to 2009 was performed. African Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans were included in the study. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (OR) to examine the relationship between racial backgrounds and mortality, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, length of hospital stay, in-hospital complications, and patient disposition. Our results showed that significant differences were found in length of hospital stay, with African American and Hispanic populations having longer hospital stays than Caucasian and Asians. For all type complications, African Americans (OR 1.228, confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.356) and Native Americans (OR 1.618, CI 1.083-2.419) were more likely than Caucasian and Hispanic patients to have in-hospital complications. For disposition status, African Americans (OR 0.844, CI 0.730-0.976) and Asians (OR 0.475, CI 0.297-0.760) were much less likely than Caucasians or Hispanic populations to be discharged to an acute rehabilitation program. The results from this large-scale study (n=18,671) demonstrate a number of racial disparities following SCI at the national level, including rate of complications, length of stay, and disposition to acute rehabilitation centers. This should raise awareness to cultural differences but also serve as an opportunity to reduce gaps in care across ethnicities for this universally life-altering condition.

AIM To address the hypothesis that young, gonad-intact female mice have improved long-term recovery associated with decreased neuroinflammation compared to male mice. METHODS Eight to ten week-old male, female, and ovariectomized (OVX) mice underwent closed cranial impact. Gonad-intact female mice were injured only in estrus state. After injury, between group differences were assessed using complementary immunohistochemical staining for microglial cells at 1 h, mRNA polymerase chain reaction for inflammatory markers at 1 h after injury, Rotarod over days 1-7, and water maze on days 28-31 after injury. RESULTS Male mice had a greater area of injury (P = 0.0063), F4/80-positive cells (P = 0.032), and up regulation of inflammatory genes compared to female mice. Male and OVX mice had higher mortality after injury when compared to female mice (P = 0.043). No group differences were demonstrated in Rotarod latencies (P = 0.62). OVX mice demonstrated decreased water maze latencies compared to other groups (P = 0.049). CONCLUSION Differences in mortality, long-term neurological recovery, and markers of neuroinflammation exist between female and male mice after moderate traumatic brain injury (MTBI). Unexpectedly, OVX mice have decreased long term neurological function after MTBI when compared to gonad intact male and female mice. As such, it can be concluded that the presence of female gonadal hormones may influence behavioural outcomes after MTBI, though mechanisms involved are unclear.

Background Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a common and devastating form of cerebrovascular disease. In ICH, gender differences in outcomes remain relatively understudied but have been examined in other neurological emergencies. Further, a potential effect of age and gender on outcomes after ICH has not been explored. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that age and gender interact to modify neurological outcomes after ICH. Methods Adult patients admitted with spontaneous primary supratentorial ICH from July 2007 through April 2010 were assessed via retrospective analysis of an existing stroke database at Duke University. Univariate analysis of collected variables was used to compare gender and outcome. Unfavorable outcome was defined as discharge to hospice or death. Using multivariate regression, the combined effect of age and gender on outcome after ICH was analyzed. Results In this study population, women were younger (61.1+14.5 versus 65.8+17.3 years, p=0.03) and more likely to have a history of substance abuse (35% versus 8.9%, p