Impact of the lunar cycle on the incidence of intracranial aneurysm rupture: Myth or reality?

Ali, Youssef; Rahme, Ralph; Matar, Nayla; Ibrahim, Ibrahim; Menassa-Moussa, L.; Maarrawi, Joseph; Rizk, T.; Nohra, G.; Okais, N; Samaha, Elie; Moussa, Ronald

doi:10.1016/j.clineuro.2008.02.001

Cited by 35 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…22,23 As might be expected, we did not find that the phase of the moon had a significant association with 30-day mortality. This result is consistent with our previous work 14 and most other studies.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

Operation Timing and 30-Day Mortality After Elective General Surgery

Sessler

Kurz

Saager

et al. 2011

Anesthesia &Amp; Analgesia

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

Operation Timing and 30-Day Mortality After Elective General Surgery

Sessler

Kurz

Saager

et al. 2011

Anesthesia &Amp; Analgesia

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“…The incidence of urinary retention was significantly higher during new moon in comparison with other phases of the lunar cycle [10], and the study of Takagi and Umemoto [9] showed that the frequency of abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture was significantly higher during the waxing moon period versus other periods. Related observations were made with haemorrhages due to rupturing intracranial aneurysms; these were overrepresented at the beginning of the lunar cycle [28]. Whilst the underlying causes are unclear, these types of associations obviously fuel the anxieties of some patients.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Kein Einfluss der Mondphase auf die Nachblutungsinzidenz nach Schilddrüsenoperationen: Eine Analyse von 26.852 Operationen

et al. 2010

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Kein Einfluss der Mondphase auf die Nachblutungsinzidenz nach Schilddrüsenoperationen: Eine Analyse von 26.852 Operationen Zusammenfassung. Grundlagen: Nichtwissenschaftliche Quellen behaupten, dass Operationen, die bei zunehmendem und vor allem bei vollem Mond durchgeführt werden, ein höheres Risiko für postoperative Komplikationen tragen. Ziel war es, in unserem großem Krankengut zu evaluieren, ob der Mondzyklus die Inzidenz an Nachblutungen nach Schilddrüsenoperationen beeinflusste. Methodik: In einer retrospektiven Kohortenstudie wurden alle 424 Patienten mit Revisionsoperation wegen Nachblutung nach Schilddrüsenoperation im Zeitraum von 1979 bis 2005, für die Datum und Zeitpunkt der Erstoperation genau vorlagen, inkludiert. Die Mondphase zum Zeitpunkt des Hautschnittes der Erstoperation wurde mittels eines Internet-basierten Programms berechnet. Ergebnisse: Nachblutungen waren etwas seltener bei abnehmendem Mond (54,7 % bei zunehmendem Mond, 45,3 % bei abnehmendem Mond; p ¼ 0,052). Trägt man jedoch die Inzidenz der Nachblutungen gegenüber den einzelnen Mondtagen auf, wird eine zufällige Fluktuation ersichtlich: Das lineare Regressionsmodell zeigt keinerlei signifikante Korrelationen (r 2 ¼ 0,0046). Schlussfolgerungen: Die Patienten müssen sich im Rahmen der Terminisierung elektiver Operationen keine Sorgen um die Mondphase machen. Schlüsselwörter: Nachblutung, Mondphase, Mond, Schilddrü senoperationen, Chirurgie.Summary. Background: It has been claimed by nonscientific sources that operations carried out at waxing moon are associated with a higher risk of complications. We aimed to evaluate if the lunar cycle influenced the incidence of postoperative haemorrhage (PH) after thyroid surgery in our large database.Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 424 patients requiring surgery for thyroid disease and suffering from PH from the years 1979 to 2006 for whom the precise operation date and hour were known. The lunar phase at the time of skin incision was calculated with an onlinecalculator.Results: PH was somewhat less prevalent in the waning phase (54.7% waxing, 45.3% waning moon; p ¼ 0.052). If the incidence of PH is plotted for each day of the lunar cycle only a random fluctuation was observed: A linear regression does not yield any significant correlation (r 2 ¼ 0.0046).Conclusions: Patients need not worry about the lunar cycle when deciding on elective surgery.

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“…Determination of the lunar cycle was based on previous studies [15–17]. The lunar cycle (or month) includes 29.5 days.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was shown that full moon is associated with greater incidence of hemorrhagic stroke, transient ischemic attack [8] and unexplained stroke symptoms [13] but not with ischemic stroke. There is a common belief, which is based mostly on anecdotal experiences, that the waxing phase of the moon can be associated with greater surgical complication risk [14] and that the incidence of intracranial aneurysm rupture increases during the new moon phase [15]. Therefore, the goal of present report was to present our institution data and to perform systematic review of studies examining the association of intracranial aneurysm rupture with moon phases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The association between lunar phase and intracranial aneurysm rupture: Myth or reality? Own data and systematic review

et al. 2017

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BackgroundIt is a common belief in medical community that lunar phases have an impact on human health. A growing body of evidence indicates that lunar phases can predict the risk to develop acute neurological and vascular disorders. The goal of present report was to present our institution data and to perform systematic review of studies examining the association of intracranial aneurysm rupture with moon phases.MethodsWe identified all patients admitted to our department for ruptured intracranial aneurysms in a period between November, 2011 and December, 2014. Patients with a known aneurysm rupture date were included. Lunar phases were determined by dividing lunar month (29.5 days) into eight equal parts, i.e., new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter and waning crescent. A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify studies that evaluated the association of lunar phases with the incident of intracranial aneurysm rupture.ResultOne hundred and eighty-six patients (62 men and 124 women, median age 56 years) were admitted to our department for treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms. The rate of intracranial aneurysm rupture was equally distributed across all phases of the lunar cycle (X 2 [7; 185] = 12.280, p = 0.092). We identified three studies that evaluated the association between incident intracranial aneurysm rupture and lunar phases with a total of 1483 patients. One study from Lebanon found that the incidence rate of intracranial aneurysm rupture was statistically significantly greater during the new moon phase (25% cases), relative to the other seven lunar phases (p < 0.001). Two subsequent studies from Austria and Germany in larger patient samples (n = 717 and n = 655, respectively) did not find an association between lunar phases and intracranial aneurysm rupture (p-values of 0.84 and 0.97, respectively). When analyzing all four studies together, we did not find an association between lunar phases and incidence of intracranial aneurysm rupture (X 2 [1668; 7] = 2.080, p = 0.955).ConclusionsMoon phases are not associated with incidence of intracranial aneurysm rupture. Studies investigating the association of intracranial aneurysm rupture with lunar illumination defined using more sensitive approaches are encouraged.

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Impact of the lunar cycle on the incidence of intracranial aneurysm rupture: Myth or reality?

Cited by 35 publications

References 7 publications

Operation Timing and 30-Day Mortality After Elective General Surgery

Operation Timing and 30-Day Mortality After Elective General Surgery

Kein Einfluss der Mondphase auf die Nachblutungsinzidenz nach Schilddrüsenoperationen: Eine Analyse von 26.852 Operationen

The association between lunar phase and intracranial aneurysm rupture: Myth or reality? Own data and systematic review

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