Dti-based neuronavigation guided eloquent area glioma resection with awake craniotomy: supra-functional resection of eloquent area gliomas

Abstract BACKGROUND Cognitive deficit was frequently observed in glioma patients, especially for those on the eloquent area. Considering the increased life expectancy, brain mapping during awake craniotomy was preferentially applied to exacerbate neurocognitive deficits. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the neurocognitive changes during the perioperative period of resection of low-grade glioma (LGG) in the left side eloquent area with awake craniotomy in a major neurosurgical center in China for 5 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed patients with left-sided glioma in eloquent areas, who received awake craniotomy during 2016–2020. Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale, BN-20, and EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire were applied for neurological cognitive assessment. We performed a correlation analysis between changes in cognitive performance and tumor characteristics, including tumor location, pathological grade. Treatment-related factors were also analyzed, such as the extent of resection (EOR), preoperative and postoperative Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS), postoperative treatment strategy (chemo- and radiotherapy), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS). RESULTS 68 patients were included in our current study. For the language domain, memory domain, and executive functions, 7.4% (5/68) patients presented mild postoperative cognitive performance deterioration compared to preoperative. Tumor location was the only factor that greatly influenced the postoperative cognitive performance, while other features (EOR, KPS, pathological grades) and treatment strategy were found no effect on cognitive change. The extent of tumor resection ranged from 81% to 100%. CONCLUSION Our study underlines the importance of the application of brain mapping during awake craniotomy, which helps to maximize extent of tumor resection while preserving cognitive function in individuals with LGG in eloquent regions.

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Assessment of wakefulness during awake craniotomy to predict intraoperative language performance

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/2019.2.jns183486 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 132 (6) ◽

pp. 1930-1937 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alexander A. Aabedi ◽

EunSeon Ahn ◽

Sofia Kakaizada ◽

Claudia Valdivia ◽

Jacob S. Young ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Task Performance ◽

Operating Room ◽

Language Processing ◽

Picture Naming ◽

Tumor Resection ◽

Naming Task ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Awake Craniotomy ◽

Text Reading ◽

Glioma Resection

OBJECTIVEMaximal safe tumor resection in language areas of the brain relies on a patient’s ability to perform intraoperative language tasks. Assessing the performance of these tasks during awake craniotomies allows the neurosurgeon to identify and preserve brain regions that are critical for language processing. However, receiving sedation and analgesia just prior to experiencing an awake craniotomy may reduce a patient’s wakefulness, leading to transient language and/or cognitive impairments that do not completely subside before language testing begins. At present, the degree to which wakefulness influences intraoperative language task performance is unclear. Therefore, the authors sought to determine whether any of 5 brief measures of wakefulness predicts such performance during awake craniotomies for glioma resection.METHODSThe authors recruited 21 patients with dominant hemisphere low- and high-grade gliomas. Each patient performed baseline wakefulness measures in addition to picture-naming and text-reading language tasks 24 hours before undergoing an awake craniotomy. The patients performed these same tasks again in the operating room following the cessation of anesthesia medications. The authors then conducted statistical analyses to investigate potential relationships between wakefulness measures and language task performance.RESULTSRelative to baseline, performance on 3 of the 4 objective wakefulness measures (rapid counting, button pressing, and vigilance) declined in the operating room. Moreover, these declines appeared in the complete absence of self-reported changes in arousal. Performance on language tasks similarly declined in the intraoperative setting, with patients experiencing greater declines in picture naming than in text reading. Finally, performance declines on rapid counting and vigilance wakefulness tasks predicted performance declines on the picture-naming task.CONCLUSIONSCurrent subjective methods for assessing wakefulness during awake craniotomies may be insufficient. The administration of objective measures of wakefulness just prior to language task administration may help to ensure that patients are ready for testing. It may also allow neurosurgeons to identify patients who are at risk for poor intraoperative performance.

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