Flow-diverting Stent-assisted Coil Embolization of a Ruptured Internal Carotid Artery Blister Aneurysm with the Pipeline Flex Embolization Device

Internal carotid artery (ICA) blister aneurysms are rare and challenging to successfully treat, using contemporary surgical or endovascular approaches, without partial or complete compromise of the parent vessel. We describe the use of a resheathable flow diverter, the Pipeline Flex Embolization Device (PFED) to perform stent-assisted coiling of a ruptured supraclinoid ICA blister aneurysm in a 56-year-old female who presented with a high-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The first PFED was deployed across the aneurysm neck to jail a microcatheter within the aneurysm dome, and then, two small coils were delivered into the aneurysm. After removing the coiling microcatheter, the second PFED was telescoped into the first PFED. There were no postprocedural complications, and follow-up magnetic resonance angiography 15 months after embolization showed complete aneurysm obliteration. Flow-diverting stent-assisted coiling should be considered as a reconstructive, vessel-preserving, endovascular treatment option for appropriately selected patients with ruptured ICA blister aneurysms. However, future studies are necessary to assess the periprocedural safety in the setting of acute SAH

Speech-Language Pathologists in Disaster Management: Team Roles

Purpose: Disaster management is a topic that is multi-faceted and intricately maintained by the professionals who volunteer their expertise and time to assist those who have been affected by an unforeseen disaster. Creating a well-rounded and effective team is of immense importance during disaster situations; speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can provide vital skills in the realm of communication, feeding, and other areas. However, the role of SLPs within the disaster management team is not well documented in the literature. The purpose of the study was to identify awareness, involvement, and training of SLPs in disaster management cycles through exploration of their self-reported knowledge, skills, and roles in order to better understand their likelihood of response and potential collaborative roles within the team. Method: To explore how SLPs view themselves as part of the disaster management cycle, a cross-sectional survey study was designed. The study specifically targeted licensed, SLPs within the state of Florida. Results: There were 216 viable survey responses to analyze. Upon rendering of the data, a descriptive and correlational analysis was conducted to further examine how speech-language professionals perceive their fit in the arena of disaster management. SLPs who responded to this survey were primarily white, 40–49-year-old females who had experienced some form of disaster. Most respondents reported receiving no training for disaster management; however, they indicated that SLPs and other healthcare professionals have unique skills that could contribute to disaster cycles. Although there was reportedly limited training and guidance available and minimal professional experience with disaster, SLPs who reported having professional experience with disaster cycles, indicated an increased likelihood of participating in future disaster response. Conclusions: Similar to interdisciplinary teams found in clinical practice, healthcare professionals need training and education about their roles to form teams to holistically address the needs of clients in all disaster management stages. Analyses show SLPs feel they could provide important contributions to the interdisciplinary disaster management team; however, they have not had adequate professional experience or training

Speech-Language Pathologists and Disaster Management: Team Roles

Purpose: Disaster management is a topic that is multi-faceted and intricately maintained by professionals who volunteer their expertise and time to assist those who have been affected by an unforeseen disaster. Creating a well-rounded and effective team is of immense importance during disaster situations. Speech-language pathologists can provide vital skills in the realm of communication, feeding, and other areas. However, the role of speech language pathologists within the disaster management team is not well documented in the literature. The purpose of the study was to identify awareness, involvement, and training of speech language pathologists in disaster management stages through exploration of their self-reported knowledge, skills, and roles to better understand their likelihood of response and potential collaborative roles within a disaster management team. Method: To gather data on self-reported awareness, knowledge, skills, participation, training, and perceptions of speech language pathologists as part of the disaster management stage, a cross-sectional survey study was designed. The study specifically targeted licensed speech language pathologists within the state of Florida. Results: There were 216 viable survey responses to analyze. Descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted to examine how speech-language professionals perceive their fit in the arena of disaster management. Speech language pathologists who responded to this survey were primarily white, 40–49-year-old females who had experienced some form of disaster. Most respondents reported receiving no training in disaster management; however, they indicated that speech language pathologists and other healthcare professionals have unique skills that could contribute to disaster management stages. Although there was reportedly limited training and guidance available and minimal professional experience with disaster, speech language pathologists who reported having professional experience with disaster stages, indicated an increased likelihood of participating in future disaster management. Conclusions: Similar to interdisciplinary teams found in clinical practice, healthcare professionals need training and education about their roles to form teams to address the needs of individuals in all disaster management stages. Analyses indicated that speech language pathologists perceive themselves, and other healthcare professionals, could provide meaningful contributions to the disaster management team; however, they have not had adequate professional experience or training