F1000 Faculty Reviews are written by members of the prestigious . They are F1000 Faculty commissioned and are peer reviewed before publication to ensure that the final, published version is comprehensive and accessible. The reviewers who approved the final version are listed with their names and affiliations. AbstractWith a prevalence of 0.8 to 1.2%, epilepsy represents one of the most frequent chronic neurological disorders; 30 to 40% of patients suffer from drug-resistant epilepsy (that is, seizures cannot be controlled adequately with antiepileptic drugs). Epilepsy surgery represents a valuable treatment option for 10 to 50% of these patients. Epilepsy surgery aims to control seizures by resection of the epileptogenic tissue while avoiding neuropsychological and other neurological deficits by sparing essential brain areas. The most common histopathological findings in epilepsy surgery specimens are hippocampal sclerosis in adults and focal cortical dysplasia in children. Whereas presurgical evaluations and surgeries in patients with mesial temporal sclerosis and benign tumors recently decreased in most centers, non-lesional patients, patients requiring intracranial recordings, and neocortical resections increased. Recent developments in neurophysiological techniques (high-density electroencephalography [EEG], magnetoencephalography, electrical and magnetic source imaging, EEG-functional magnetic resonance imaging [EEG-fMRI], and recording of pathological high-frequency oscillations), structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (ultra-high-field imaging at 7 Tesla, novel imaging acquisition protocols, and advanced image analysis [post-processing] techniques), functional imaging (positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography co-registered to MRI), and fMRI significantly improved non-invasive presurgical evaluation and have opened the option of epilepsy surgery to patients previously not considered surgical candidates. Technical improvements of resective surgery techniques facilitate successful and safe operations in highly delicate brain areas like the perisylvian area in operculoinsular epilepsy. Novel less-invasive surgical techniques include stereotactic radiosurgery, MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy, and stereotactic intracerebral EEG-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text 18. Cloppenborg T, May TW, Blümcke I, et al.: Trends in epilepsy surgery: stable surgical numbers despite increasing presurgical volumes. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr. 2016; 87(12): 1322-9. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text 19. Dugan P, Carlson C, Jetté N, et al.: Derivation and initial validation of a surgical grading scale for the preliminary evaluation of adult patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2017; 58(5): 792-800. PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | F1000 Recommendation 20. Butler TA, Dugan P, French J: Why is mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with Ammon's horn sclerosis becoming less common? Eur J Neurol. 2015; 22(1): e12.PubMe...

Endoscopists participating in the Austrian quality assurance program offered high quality screening colonoscopy regardless of their specialty and setting. The implementation of a standardized quality program is therefore a decisive factor in quality improvement of screening colonoscopy.

No abstract

No abstract

This study showed an improvement in the quality of screening colonoscopies performed within a quality assurance program in Austria between 2007 and 2014. Although, overall ADR increased significantly during the study period, there was a decrease in the rate of advanced adenoma detection. This document was downloaded for personal use only. Unauthorized distribution is strictly prohibited. within the nationwide quality assurance program for screening colonoscopy in Austria. Methods ! Data from electronic records of the quality assurance program for screening colonoscopy, from its implementation in 2007 until December 2014, were analyzed in order to calculate detection rates for adenomas, advanced adenomas, polyps, and proximal lesions, and rates of cecal intubation, sedation, complications, and adequate bowel preparation. Results were evaluated to identify trends and changes in quality parameters over the 8-year study period. The study period was divided into four 2-year blocks and detection rates were computed within these blocks. Only those participants who had performed at least 20 colonoscopies during the study blocks were included in the study.