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Purpose of Review Review work to create and evaluate educational materials that could serve as a primary prevention strategy to help both providers and patients in Panama, Colombia, and the USA reduce disease burden of Toxoplasma infections. Recent Findings Educational programs had not been evaluated for efficacy in Panama, USA, or Colombia. Summary Educational programs for high school students, pregnant women, medical students and professionals, scientists, and lay personnel were created. In most settings, short-term effects were evaluated. In Panama, Colombia, and USA, all materials showed short-term utility in transmitting information to learners. These educational materials can serve as a component of larger public health programs to lower disease burden from congenital toxoplasmosis. Future priorities include conducting robust longitudinal studies of whether education correlates with reduced adverse disease outcomes, modifying educational materials as new information regarding region-specific risk factors is discovered, and ensuring materials are widely accessible.

Control of the thermal and physical damage during skull base grinding is of great importance. We assess the effects of bur material (3 materials), angle of the bur (10 angles), bur diameter (10 diameters), gas coolant (4 coolants), and grinding time (10 times) to evaluate the role of operating variables in thermal and physical damage during skull bone grinding. After validation of finite element analysis (FEA) results with experimental data, the temperature in the grinding site and axial force are calculated using FEA. The use of a diamond bur leads to at least 24.48 and 12.9% reduction in thermal and physical damage, respectively. A change in angle of the bur from 0º to 90º leads to a 19.76-31.62 times increment in axial force. An increase in bur diameter from 1 to 5.5 mm led to 10.78-14.36% and 23.43-43.90% increase in maximum temperature and axial force, respectively. However, a bur diameter between 2.5 and 4 mm could provide enough grinding force with less thermal damage. Skull base grinding with dry (D) and normal saline (NS) coolants was always accompanied with thermal damage. The results of maximum and duration of temperature, axial force, and surface defect evaluation show CO

Purpose of ReviewReview building of programs to eliminateToxoplasmainfections.Recent FindingsMorbidity and mortality from toxoplasmosis led to programs in USA, Panama, and Colombia to facilitate understanding, treatment, prevention, and regional resources, incorporating student work.SummaryStudies foundational for building recent, regional approaches/programs are reviewed. Introduction provides an overview/review of programs in Panamá, the United States, and other countries. High prevalence/risk of exposure led to laws mandating testing in gestation, reporting, and development of broad-based teaching materials aboutToxoplasma.These were tested for efficacy as learning tools for high-school students, pregnant women, medical students, physicians, scientists, public health officials and general public. Digitized, free, smart phone application effectively taught pregnant women about toxoplasmosis prevention. Perinatal infection care programs, identifying true regional risk factors, and point-of-care gestational screening facilitate prevention and care. When implemented fully across all demographics, such programs present opportunities to save lives, sight, and cognition with considerable spillover benefits for individuals and societies.

Purpose: The craniometrics of head circumference (HC) and ventricular size are part of the clinical assessment of infants with hydrocephalus and are often utilized in conjunction with other clinical and radiological parameters to determine the success of treatment. We aimed to assess the effect of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) and shunting on craniometric measurements during the follow-up of a cohort of infants with symptomatic triventricular hydrocephalus secondary to aqueductal stenosis. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of data from the International Infant Hydrocephalus Study (IIHS)-a prospective, multicenter study of infants (< 24 months old) with hydrocephalus from aqueductal stenosis who were treated with either an ETV or shunt. During various stages of a 5-year follow-up period, the following craniometrics were measured: HC, HC centile, HC z-score, and frontal-occipital horn ratio (FOR). Data were compared in an analysis of covariance, adjusting for baseline variables including age at surgery and sex. Results: Of 158 enrolled patients, 115 underwent an ETV, while 43 received a shunt. Both procedures led to improvements in the mean HC centile position and z-score, a trend which continued until the 5-year assessment point. A similar trend was noted for FOR which was measured at 12 months and 3 years following initial treatment. Although the values were consistently higher for ETV compared with shunt, the differences in HC value, centile, and z-score were not significant. ETV was associated with a significantly higher FOR compared with shunting at 12 months (0.52 vs 0.44; p = 0.002) and 3 years (0.46 vs 0.38; p = 0.03) of follow-up. Conclusion: ETV and shunting led to improvements in HC centile, z-score, and FOR measurements during long-term follow-up of infants with hydrocephalus secondary to aqueductal stenosis. Head size did not significantly differ between the treatment groups during follow-up, however ventricle size was greater in those undergoing ETV when measured at 1 and 3 years following treatment.

Despite advances in cerebrospinal fluid shunting technology, complications remain a significant concern. There are some contradictions about the effectiveness of proximal catheter entry sites that decrease shunt failures. We aim to compare efficiency of shunts with ventricular frontal, ventricular occipital, and cisterna magna entry sites. The systemic search was conducted in the database from conception to February 16, 2022 following guidelines of PRISMA. Between 2860 identified articles, 24 articles including 6094 patients were used for data synthesis. The aggregated results of all patients showed that "overall shunt failure rate per year" in mixed hydrocephalus with ventricular frontal and occipital shunts, and cisterna magna shunt (CMS) were 9.0%, 12.6%, and 30.7%, respectively. The corresponding values for "shunt failure rate" due to obstruction were 15.3%, 31.5%, and 10.2%, respectively. The similar results for "shunt failure rate" due to infection were 11.3%, 9.1%, and 27.2%, respectively. The related values for "shunt failure rate" due to overdrainage were 2.9%, 3.9%, and 13.6%, respectively. CMS was successful in the immediate resolution of clinical symptoms. Shunting through an occipital entry site had a greater likelihood of inaccurate catheter placement and location. Contrary to possible shunt failure due to overdrainage, the failure likelihood due to obstruction and infection in pediatric patients was higher than that of mixed hydrocephalus patients. In both mixed and pediatric hydrocephalus, obstruction and overdrainage were the most and least common complications of ventricular frontal and occipital shunts, respectively. The most and least common complications of mixed CMS were infection and obstruction, respectively.

Background: Although the technology has been available and several pilot studies have shown success, use of telemedicine has previously been limited in the United States, especially among surgeons. This study aimed to investigate the benefits and obstacles for successful implementation of telemedicine visits in paediatric surgical subspecialties amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We analysed survey data from telemedicine visits with paediatric surgical subspecialists from May 1 through June 30, 2020 at our paediatric surgery subspecialty clinics. Univariate logistic regression was used to determine associations in survey responses and various demographic factors. Results: There were 164 respondents to the survey. The most frequently cited barrier to care was ability to get time off work (46.3%). Overall satisfaction with the telemedicine visit was 93.8%, and 55.6% responded that they would choose video telemedicine rather than an in-person or telephone visit. Those living at least 25 miles from the hospital had increased odds of indicating interest in using telemedicine for future visits (OR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.12–5.86, p = 0.026). The average respondent saved between 30 minutes and 1 hour, and 45 minutes using telemedicine. Conclusions: The implementation of telemedicine at our institution in the paediatric surgical subspecialties has proven to be effective and well-received. Given the benefits of time and money saved for families, paired with high satisfaction rates and continued interest, paediatric surgical subspecialists should work to incorporate virtual visits into regular patient care, even well after the COVID-19 pandemic. Level of Evidence: Level IV

Obstructive hydrocephalus can be treated with an extracranial shunting system or, when the obstruction is between the posterior third ventricle and the fourth ventricular outflow tracts, by an endoscopic third ventriculocisternostomy (ETV). The placement of an extracranial shunting device entails significant long-term risk of infection and malfunction. This risk has led to the concept that ETV is preferable to shunting. While the long-term cognitive performance of shunted hydrocephalus patients has been extensively examined, the outcome of patients undergoing ETV has been studied only sparsely. Ten adults who had undergone ETV were entered into the study under institutional review board approval. Each patient underwent a neuropsychological testing battery that included testing within the domains of basic attention, verbal memory, visual memory, language, and executive functioning. Aggregate test scores showed a decrease in performance in the domains of memory and executive functioning when compared to normative data. The present study revealed persistent cognitive inefficiencies in memory and executive domains in patients post-ETV intervention. A larger longitudinal study considering the impact of prior shunting, presence of headaches, emotional status, and surgical complications will assist in elucidating the etiology and eventual treatment of these deficits. (JINS, 2009, 15, 394–398.)

Extracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt obstruction is one of the most important problems in hydrocephalus patient management. Despite ongoing research into better shunt design, robust and reliable detection of shunt malfunction remains elusive. The authors present a novel method of correlating degree of tissue ingrowth into ventricular CSF drainage catheters with internal electrical impedance. The impedance based sensor is able to continuously monitor shunt patency using intraluminal electrodes. Prototype obstruction sensors were fabricated for in-vitro analysis of cellular ingrowth into a shunt under static and dynamic flow conditions. Primary astrocyte cell lines and C6 glioma cells were allowed to proliferate up to 7 days within a shunt catheter and the impedance waveform was observed. During cell ingrowth a significant change in the peak-to-peak voltage signal as well as the root-mean-square voltage level was observed, allowing the impedance sensor to potentially anticipate shunt malfunction long before it affects fluid drainage. Finite element modeling was employed to demonstrate that the electrical signal used to monitor tissue ingrowth is contained inside the catheter lumen and does not endanger tissue surrounding the shunt. These results may herald the development of "next generation" shunt technology that allows prediction of malfunction before it affects patient outcome.

Barbiturates are widely used in the management of high intracranial pressure (ICP) caused by diffuse brain swelling. The cardiovascular, renal, and immunological side effects of these drugs limit them to last-line therapy. There are few published data regarding the role of barbiturates in focal brain lesions causing refractory elevated ICP and intraoperative brain swelling in the pediatric population. The authors here present 3 cases of nontraumatic, focally induced, refractory intracranial hypertension due to 2 tumors and 1 arteriovenous malformation, in which barbiturate therapy was used successfully to control elevated ICP. They focus on cardiovascular, renal, and immune function during the course of pentobarbital therapy. They also discuss the role of pentobarbital-induced hypothermia. From this short case series, they demonstrate that barbiturates in conjunction with standard medical therapy can be used to safely reduce postoperative refractory intracranial hypertension and intraoperative brain swelling in children with focal brain lesions.

In some cognitively delayed children who require a vagal nerve stimulator for treatment of their seizures, there is a risk of wound breakdown and infection from obsessive tampering with the wound. We describe the interscapular placement of the vagal nerve stimulator pulse generator as a method to reduce this risk.