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Pulmonary embolism (PE) due to deep vein thrombosis is a complication with severe morbidity and mortality rates. Neurocritical care patients constitute an inhomogeneous cohort with often strict contraindications to conventional embolism treatment. The aim of the present study is to identify risk factors for pulmonary embolism for intensified risk stratification in this demanding cohort. In this retrospective analysis, 387 neurocritical care patients received computed tomography for clinical suspicion of PE (304 neurosurgical and 83 neurological patients). Analysed parameters included age, gender, disease pattern, the presence of deep vein thrombosis, resuscitation, in-hospital mortality, present anticoagulation, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, hypertension and ABO blood type. Computed tomography confirmed 165 cases of pulmonary embolism among 387 patients with clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism (42%). Younger age (p < 0.0001), female gender (p < 0.006), neurooncological disease (p < 0.002), non-O blood type (p < 0.002) and the absence of Marcumar therapy (p < 0.003) were identified as significant risk factors for pulmonary embolism. On the basis of the identified risk factors, the AMBOS score system is introduced. Neurocritical care patients with high AMBOS score are at elevated risk for PE and should therefore be put under intensified monitoring for cardiovascular events in neurocritical care units.

Background: The scientific activity of neurosurgeons and neurosurgery residents as measured by bibliometric parameters is of increased interest. While data about academic output for neurosurgeons in the USA, the UK, and Canada have been published, no similar results for German neurosurgical residents exist. Within this study, we aim to evaluate the academic output of German neurosurgery residents in 35 academic residency programs., Methods: Data for each resident were collected from the departmental websites, Pubmed, and Scopus. Further analyses evaluated the relationship between publication productivity, sex, and academic degree (Dr. med.)., Results: Data from 424 neurosurgery residents were analyzed. A total of 1222 publications were considered. A total of 355 (29%) of the 1222 publications were first-author publications. The average number of publications per resident was 2.9; the average h-index and m-quotient was 1.1 and 0.4, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in academic output and h-index among neurosurgical residents with a doctoral degree compared with residents without such degree (5.3 vs. 1.3, p < 0.0001 and 2.0 vs. 0.5, p < 0.0001)., Conclusion: This is the very first study evaluating the academic output of neurosurgical residents in academic neurosurgical departments in Germany.

Sir Ludwig Guttmann's pioneering work in the treatment of spinal injury not only improved the care for patients with paraplegia up to now but revolutionized basic principles of neurorehabilitation. A wide selection of publications honors the personal and academic life of this singular German neurologist and neurosurgeon of Jewish descent. When the Nazis came into power, Guttmann was dismissed from his hospital workplace, humiliated, and later forced to leave Germany. Surprisingly, after the Second World War, the psychiatrist Friedrich Panse, who had been a member of the Nazi party, initiated Guttmann's academic rehabilitation up to his nomination as emeritus professor of Cologne University in 1964. The present article recounts the difficult academic restitution and poses the question why Guttmann sought to re-establish connections to Germany, a country that had expelled him so harshly some decades before., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)