Forough Farrokhyar

Background: The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) and CT angiography (CTA) Collateral Score (CS) are routinely used to estimate ischemic core burden and collateral status in acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion, but suffer from limited reliability. Whether automated CT perfusion (CTP) maps improve scoring consistency remains unclear. Objectives: To assess the reliability of these scores on non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) and CTA among numerous raters, with and without access to automated perfusion maps, and their correlations with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) decisions. Methods: Twenty-nine clinicians independently rated 60 imaging cases from 30 late-window stroke patients with large vessel occlusion, each presented twice: once using NCCT and CTA alone (‘non-CTP cases’), and once with the addition of perfusion maps (‘CTP cases’). Twenty-eight raters (97%) completed the survey twice. Inter- and intra-reliability was assessed using Gwet’s AC1/2 coefficients (κ _G ). Correlations with EVT decisions were evaluated using Cramer V. Results: Inter-rater reliability for ASPECTS was substantial and similar between non-CTP (κ _G = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.53 to 0.78) and CTP cases (κ _G = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.51 to 0.77). CS showed an almost perfect reliability in both scenarios (κ _G = 0.82 and 0.83). Intra-rater agreement was at least substantial. Dichotomizing ASPECTS as 0-2/3-10 improved reliability to almost perfect. ASPECTS strongly correlated with EVT decisions (V=0.80), whereas CS showed moderate correlation (V=0.56), both remaining similar with the addition of CTP (V=0.75 and 0.54, respectively). Conclusion: Automated perfusion imaging did not improve the reliability of ASPECTS or CS. Strong reliability was achieved with NCCT and CTA alone.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the impact of the implementation of legally sanctioned supervised consumption sites (SCS) in the Canadian province of Ontario on opioid‐related deaths, emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalisations at the public health unit (PHU) level.Methods: Monthly rates per 100,000 population of opioid‐related deaths, ED visits and hospitalisations for PHUs in Ontario between December 2013 and March 2022 were collected. Aggregated and individual analyses of PHUs with one or more SCS were conducted, with PHUs that instituted an SCS being matched to control units that did not. Autoregressive integrated moving average models were used to estimate the impact of SCS implementation on opioid‐related deaths, ED visits and hospitalisations.Results: Twenty‐one legally sanctioned SCS were implemented across nine PHUs in Ontario during the study period. Interrupted time series analyses showed no statistically significant changes in opioid‐related death rates in aggregated analyses of intervention PHUs (increase of 0.02 deaths/100,000 population/month; p = 0.27). Control PHUs saw a significant increase of 0.38 deaths/100,000 population/month; p < 0.001. No statistically significant changes were observed in the rates of opioid‐related ED visits in intervention PHUs (decrease of 0.61 visits/100,000 population/month; p = 0.39) or controls (increase of 0.403 visits; p = 0.76). No statistically significant changes to the rates of opioid‐related hospitalisations were observed in intervention PHUs (0 hospitalisations/100,000 population/month; p = 0.98) or controls (decrease of 0.05 hospitalisations; p = 0.95).Discussion and Conclusions: This study did not find significant mortality or morbidity effects associated with SCS availability at the population level in Ontario. In the context of a highly toxic drug supply, additional interventions will be required to reduce opioid‐related harms.

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a debilitating disease with an annual incidence of approximately 4–27/100,000.

Background: Limited research exists regarding the impact of neuroimaging modality on endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) decisions for late window large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke cases. Purpose: This study assesses whether perfusion CT imaging: 1) alters the proportion of recommendations for EVT, and 2) enhances the reliability of EVT decision-making compared to non-contrast CT and CT angiography. Materials and Methods: We conducted an online survey using 30 patients drawn from an institutional database of 3144 acute stroke cranial CT scans. These cases were presented to 29 stroke or neurointerventional physicians from Canada across two sessions. Physicians evaluated each patient both with and without perfusion imaging and gave EVT recommendations. We used non-overlapping 95% confidence intervals and difference in agreement classification as criteria to suggest a difference between the Gwet AC1 statistics (κ _G ). Our outcomes were: 1) the proportion of EVT recommendations, and 2) interrater and intrarater agreement, with or without perfusion imaging. Results: In the first round, 29 raters completed the assessment, with 28 finishing the second round. The percentage of EVT recommendations differed by 1.1% with or without perfusion imaging. However, individual decisions changed in 21.4% of cases, with 11.3% against EVT and 10.1% in favor. Interrater agreement (κG) among the 29 raters was similar between non-perfusion CT neuroimaging and perfusion CT neuroimaging (κG = 0.487; 95% CI 0.327, 0.647 and κG = 0.552; 95% CI 0.430, 0.675). The 95% CIs overlapped with moderate agreement in both. Intrarater agreement exhibited overlapping 95% CIs for all 28 raters. κG was either substantial or excellent (0.81-1) for 71.4% (20/28) of raters in both groups. Conclusion: The difference in EVT recommendations is minimal with either neuroimaing protocol. Regarding agreement we found that use of automated CT perfusion images does not significantly impact the reliability of EVT decisions for late window LVO patients.

Background: Understanding opioid prescription, consumption, and the factors related to these is important to prescribe opioids responsibly. Our primary purpose is to determine the factors predicting opioid prescription, and the secondary purpose is to examine the factors predicting opioid tablet consumption. Methods: A prospective cohort was evaluated using 2 surveys. The primary outcome was type of prescription given (opioid vs non-opioid). The secondary outcome was the number of opioid tablets consumed at the second survey. Demographics, the pain catastrophizing scale, and patient health questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) for depression and anxiety were collected. Statistics included Chi-Square, student's t-test, univariable, and multivariate regression analyses. Results: Four hundred and forty patients completed the first survey, of which 193 completed the second. Two-hundred and fourteen (49%) patients received an opioid prescription. Opioids were given most often after: surgery in the main operating room (OR 23.6 [10.0-55.2]), breast or abdomen (OR 11.1 [1.2-101.1]), upper limb (OR 4.0 [1.7-9.3]), and less often after dermatologic surgery (OR 0.2 [0.1-0.5]). Among patients who received opioids, a mean of 10 opioid tablets were consumed at the post-operative survey. More tablets were consumed when: age was less than 60 ( P < .05), with pre-operative opioid use ( P = .03), and with a high score on the PHQ-4 ( P = .002). Conclusions: The patterns of opioid prescription and consumption after outpatient Plastic Surgery are elucidated. Plastic surgeons over-estimate patients’ opioid requirements. Potentially less opioids could be prescribed in the minor procedure room without an increase in pain crises. Public health campaigns should focus on the proper disposal of unused opioid tablets.

Brief This is a protocol to assess feasibility of conducting a prospective cohort study comparing local flaps versus skin grafts for surgical excision of skin cancer from the face. Introduction: Skin cancer is the most common malignancy worldwide and the face is one of the most common locations of occurrence. Surgical excision is the most popular treatment for small lesions of the face. Defects can be reconstructed using local flaps or skin grafts. There is a paucity of literature evaluating outcomes after skin cancer surgery from the patient’s perspective using valid measurement tools. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of conducting a prospective observational cohort study. The primary outcomes include recruitment rates, eligibility rate, compliance of intervention and rate of completion of the primary outcome (FACE-Q scales) at 3 months. Secondary outcomes include examining patient characteristic and FACE-Q score differences between local flaps to skin grafts and adverse events. Methods and analysis: This study is a prospective cohort study consisting of an anticipated 30 patients aged ≥18 years. The study population will consist of a consecutive sample of non-melanoma facial skin cancer patients undergoing a skin graft or local flap. Patients will be followed and evaluated with the FACE-Q questionnaire at 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year post-operation. The following criteria will determine success: patients who meet eligibility criteria >70%; recruitment rate >70%; compliance with intervention >90%; rate of completion of full-scale prospective study primary outcome (FACE-Q at 3 months) >80%; retention rate at 6-month follow-up visit >70%. Discussion: The findings of this study will be used to guide the sample size calculation for a future, large-scale prospective study. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04842279).

BACKGROUND: Scalp block is regional anesthetic injection along nerves innervating the cranium. Scalp blocks for craniotomy may decrease postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Benefits may extend beyond the anesthetic period. OBJECTIVE: To analyze evidence for scalp block on postoperative pain and opioid use. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis, Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews registration (CRD42022308048), included Ovid Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials inception through February 9, 2022. Only randomized controlled trials were included. We excluded studies not reporting either main outcome. Duplicate reviewers performed study selection, risk of bias assessment, data extraction, and evidence certainty Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation appraisal. Main outcomes were postoperative pain by visual analog scale within 72 hours and opioid consumption as morphine milligram equivalent (MME) within 48 hours. RESULTS: Screening filtered 955 studies to 23 trials containing 1532 patients. Risk of bias was overall low. Scalp block reduced postoperative pain at 2 through 72 hours, visual analog scale mean differences of 0.79 to 1.40. Opioid requirements were reduced at 24 hours by 16.52 MME and 48 hours by 15.63 MME. CONCLUSION: Scalp block reduces postoperative pain at 2 through 48 hours and may reduce pain at 72 hours. Scalp block likely reduces opioid consumption within 24 hours and may reduce opioid consumption to 48 hours. The clinical utility of these differences should be interpreted within the context of modest absolute reductions, overall care optimization, and patient populations. This is the first level 1A evidence to evaluate scalp block efficacy in craniotomy.