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Study Design: A retrospective national administrative database study., Objective: Advances in treatment of traumatic cervical spinal cord injury with fracture (TCSCIF) have led to significant improvements in clinical outcomes; however, progress in healthcare is seldom ubiquitous across demographic groups. Therefore, we explored if disparities in treatment and outcome after TCSCIF exist across race and socioeconomic status., Setting: USA., Methods: We queried the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 1998 to 2009 for TCSCIF hospitalizations. Multivariate analysis was used to identify the correlation between socioeconomic status and race to injury, treatment type, and outcome., Results: There were 21,985 admissions for TCSCIF, 66.9% of whom had a favorable discharge disposition. In-hospital mortality rate was 12.5%. A total of 43.7% underwent surgery. Overall, surgery was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.27-0.34, p < 0.01) and better discharge disposition (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.62-0.74, p < 0.01) versus nonsurgical or no intervention. African-American (AA) race and low socioeconomic status (LSES) were significant predictors of lower odds to undergo surgery and unfavorable discharge disposition, respectively; potentially explained by a higher odds of increased New Injury Severity Score classification at presentation. Surgical and favorable discharge rates for LSES and non-Caucasian races, however, have been steadily improving over the study period., Conclusions: Despite trending improved outcomes after TCSCIF, LSES, or AA race were more likely to have worse outcomes compared to their counterparts. In addition, LSES, AA, and Hispanic groups were less likely to undergo surgical treatment, suggesting disparities in management and outcome effect.

Papaverine has been associated with transient cranial nerve dysfunction after topical application during craniotomy. The authors report similar dysfunction after the use of papaverine affected brainstem structures. Two patients undergoing craniotomy for clipping of an aneurysm experienced bilateral depression of cortical somatosensory evoked potentials to both median and tibial nerve stimulation after administration of papaverine. Arterial blood gas analysis, hemodynamic parameters, and anesthetic levels remained constant throughout these somatosensory evoked potential changes. In addition, intraoperative angiography and immediate postoperative CT imaging showed intact blood flow with complete exclusion of the aneurysm. Both patients recovered within 1-2 hours and had normal neurological examination findings after extubation. Topical papaverine use may be associated with direct effects on brainstem structures. The transient nature of those changes suggests that aggressive intervention may not be needed. Maneuvers to limit the spread of papaverine to basal cisterns should be considered.

Craniocerebral injuries from ballistic projectiles are qualitatively different from injuries in unconfined soft tissue with similar impact. Penetrating and nonpenetrating ballistic injuries are influenced not only by the physical properties of the projectile, but also by its ballistics. Ballistics provides information on the motion of projectiles while in the gun barrel, the trajectory of the projectile in air, and the behavior of the projectile on reaching its target. This basic knowledge can be applied to better understand the ultimate craniocerebral consequences of ballistic head injuries.