Neurosurgical Focus covers a different topic in-depth each month. Enhanced by color images and video clips, each peer-reviewed issue constitutes a state-of-the-art “textbook chapter” in the field of neurosurgery.

While Neurosurgical Focus is open-access and has been free to the public since 1996, claiming CME credit is free only for AANS members. Each monthly issue offers 3 credits - earn up to 36 CME annually.

Dr. Jonathan Dalton
Dr. Anthony Michael DiGiorgio
Dr. Martina Sebok

Upon completion of this CME activity, participants should be able to:

1. Develop a better understanding of:  How to manage patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures while being treated with antithrombotic medication. How to manage patients treated with antithrombotics not in need of surgery but suffering from neurosurgical diseases (e.g. TBI, AC, AVM, cavernomas etc.). Finally, the reader will develop a better understanding on potential neurosurgical diseases, where antithrombotics might be of benefit for the evolution of the disease (e.g. stroke, unruptured aneurysms etc.)
2. Develop a greater knowledge of: In general, on the management of patients treated with antithrombotics presenting to a neurosurgical department. The importance of these medications, there pharmacological characteristics, the reversal agents and when they should be used as well as the cardio-vascular consequences and incidence of discontinuing treatment (e.g. perioperative myocardial injury etc.) in the perioperative phase. Potentially based on this issues papers guidelines could be formed that will define under which circumstances antithrombotic medication can be continued or has to be discontinued.
3. Learn about: The risk of bleeding when operating under these agents. The risk of thrombo-embolic complications when discontinuing these agents. The potential benefit of applying these agents for a specific battery of neurosurgical diseases.
4. Gain a greater appreciation of: The importance of this topic, the urgency in need of guidelines and further knowledge on the topic, the importance of interdisciplinary assessment of these patients based on better evidence.