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Validation of the optic nerve sheath response to changing cerebrospinal fluid pressure: ultrasound findings during intrathecal infusion tests.

Raised intracranial pressure leads to increased pressure around the optic nerve (ON), which underlies the formation of papilledema and the enlargement of the dural optic nerve sheath (ONS). In clinical practice, the presence of widened ONSs is demonstrable on neuroimaging, but their relationship to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure remains unknown. The authors investigated the ONS response to pressure during CSF absorption studies in 12 patients undergoing neurological testing. The ONS diameter was evaluated by serial B-mode ultrasound scans of the anterior ON near its entry into the globe. All patients tested showed ONS diameter changes that exhibited covariance with the alteration of lumbar CSF pressure and were completely reversible during the infusion tests. The maximum difference in ONS diameter between baseline and peak pressure conditions was 1.8 mm on average (range 0.7-3.1 mm), corresponding to an average ONS diameter variation of 45% (range 15-89%). Regression analysis yielded a linear covariance between ONS diameter and CSF pressure with different slopes across subjects (0.019-0.071 mm/mm Hg, mean r = 0.78). However, this linear relationship was only present within a CSF pressure interval. This interval differed between patients: ONS dilation commenced at pressure thresholds between 15 mm Hg and 30 mm Hg and in some patients saturation of the response (constant ONS diameter) occurred between 30 mm Hg and 40 mm Hg. With a single exception, definitely enlarged ONS diameters (> 5 mm) were present when CSF pressure exceeded levels of 30 mm Hg. Retrospectively, discrimination between normal and elevated outflow resistance was possible on the basis of the ONS response to intrathecal infusion alone. It is concluded that the human ONS has sufficient elasticity to allow a detectable dilation in response to intracranial hypertension. Because of a variable pressure-diameter relationship, the subarachnoid pressure cannot be predicted exactly by single scans. Therefore, the clinical relevance of this method relies on the demonstration of pathologically enlarged sheaths or ongoing enlargement on serial ultrasonography studies.

Adult↗

Intrathecally administered baclofen for treatment of children with spasticity of cerebral origin.

Management of severe spasticity in children is often a difficult problem. Orally administered medications generally offer limited benefits. This study examines the value of intrathecally administered baclofen in the treatment of 19 children with severe spasticity of cerebral origin: eight of whom sustained brain injury associated with trauma, near drowning, or cardiac arrest; 10 with cerebral palsy (spastic quadriplegia); and one child with Leigh's disease. At the time of entry into the study, patients ranged from 4 to 19 years of age, and all were completely dependent on caretakers for activities of daily living. Children who responded positively to a trial dose of intrathecal baclofen underwent insertion of a drug delivery system for continuous infusion. This was followed by a double-blind trial of baclofen or placebo and follow-up review at 3 and 6 months, and yearly thereafter. Seven children did not undergo pump implantation because of excess sedation or poor response. The 12 remaining children have been followed for a period of 1 to 5 years. Favorable responses were present in all 12 children as determined by the Ashworth Scale, with the greatest benefit being reduction of lower limb tone. Except in the case of one child who had reduction in lower limb tone that resulted in difficulty with transfers, the caretakers all reported significant benefits from intrathecal baclofen, with improvement in muscle tone, behavior, sitting, and general ease of care being most commonly noted. Central side effects were seen in some children who received continuous intrathecal baclofen infusion and included hypotension (two patients), bradycardia (two), apnea or respiratory depression (two), and sedation (one). During a total of 568 months of pump operation there were 10 mechanical complications, including two related to pump or side port failure and eight related to catheter kinks, extrusions, or dislodgment. Pump pocket effusion occurred in five children and a cerebrospinal fluid fistula was seen in one child. Local infection occurred in three children and meningitis in two children. The results demonstrate the potential value of continuous intrathecal baclofen infusion for treatment of severe spasticity of cerebral origin. However, this treatment can result in significant complications and more experience is required before the long-term benefits can be determined.

Adolescent↗

Prospective assessment of continuous intrathecal infusion of baclofen for spasticity caused by acquired brain injury: a preliminary report.

Twelve consecutive patients with severe spasticity and hypertonia following acquired brain injury were treated with continuous intrathecal infusion of baclofen via an implanted, programmable infusion pump-catheter system for a minimum of 3 months. In every case intrathecal baclofen therapy resulted in a statistically significant reduction in upper- and lower-extremity tone, spasm frequency, and reflexes, contributing to improved functional abilities. There were no untoward side effects or complications associated with treatment. This preliminary assessment indicates that intrathecal administration of baclofen is effective in treating the disabling spasticity caused by acquired brain injury in selected patients.

Adolescent↗

Intrathecal baclofen infusion and subsequent orthopedic surgery in patients with spastic cerebral palsy.

UNLABELLED: Intrathecal baclofen infusion (IBI) is an effective treatment for spasticity secondary to cerebral palsy (CP). OBJECT: To assess the need for orthopedic surgery of the lower extremities in such cases, the authors retrospectively reviewed the outcome in 48 patients with spastic CP who were treated with IBI. METHODS: Pumps were placed in 40 patients (84%) suffering from spastic quadriplegia and eight patients (16%) with spastic diplegia. The patients' ages ranged from 5 to 43 years (mean 15 years). The mean follow-up period was 53 months (range 24-94 months). The mean baclofen dosage was 306 microg/day (range 25-1350 microg/day). At the time of pump placement, subsequent orthopedic surgery was planned in 28 patients (58%); however, only 10 (21%) underwent surgery after IBI therapy. In all 10 cases, the surgical procedure was planned at the time of initial evaluation for IBI therapy. In the remaining 18 patients, who did not subsequently undergo their planned orthopedic operation, it was believed that their lower-extremity spasticity had improved to the degree that intervention was no longer indicated. In addition, although six patients had undergone multiple orthopedic operations before their spasticity was treated, no patient required more than one operation after IBI treatment for spasticity. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that IBI for treatment of spastic CP reduces the need for subsequent orthopedic surgery for the effects of lower-extremity spasticity. In patients with spastic CP and lower-extremity contractures, spasticity should be treated before orthopedic procedures are performed.

Adolescent↗

Treatment of chronic pain by using intrathecal drug therapy compared with conventional pain therapies: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

OBJECT: The object of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of intrathecal drug therapy (IDT) with that of conventional pain therapy (CPT) in patients suffering from chronic low back pain caused by failed back syndrome. In this study, the authors tabulated actual costs, in Canadian dollars, in a consecutive series of patients undergoing IDT within the Canadian health care system and have compared them with costs in a control group in the same environment. The influence of these treatments on the quality of life (QOL) was also analyzed. METHODS: The authors report on a series of 67 patients suffering from failed back syndrome, 23 of whom underwent implantation of a programmable drug delivery pump and 44 of whom acted as controls. Patients were followed for a 5-year period during which the investigators tabulated the actual costs incurred for diagnostic imaging, professional fees, implantation costs including hardware, nursing visits for maintenance of the pumps, alternative therapies, and hospitalization costs for breakthrough pain. From this data, cumulative costs for each group were calculated for a 5-year period. Patient responses on the Oswestry Pain Questionnaire were analyzed to assess the impact of treatment on QOL. The actual cumulative costs for IDT during a 5-year period were $29,410, as opposed to $38,000 for CPT. High initial costs of equipment required for IDT were recovered by 28 months. After this time point, managing patients with CPT became the more expensive treatment option for the remainder of the follow-up period. The Oswestry Disability Index showed a 27% improvement for patients in the IDT group, compared with a 12% improvement in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: In patients who respond to this treatment, IDT is cost effective in the long term despite high initial costs of implantable devices.

Analgesics, Opioid↗

Prolonged intrathecal baclofen withdrawal syndrome. Case report and discussion of current therapeutic management.

The authors describe a patient who experienced a prolonged course of intrathecal baclofen withdrawal syndrome after removal of an implantable baclofen pump for treatment of pump infection and meningitis. The current literature outlines management options for the acute management of this syndrome. In this report the authors discuss the long-term presentation of this syndrome and suggest a treatment strategy for management of the syndrome. A 37-year-old man who presented with a baclofen pump infection and meningitis experienced acute onset of intrathecal baclofen withdrawal syndrome 12 hours after the pump had been surgically removed. The patient's symptoms evolved into a severe, treatment-refractory withdrawal syndrome lasting longer than 1 month. Oral baclofen replacement with adjunctive administration of parenteral gamma-aminobutyric acid agonists only served to stabilize the patient's critical condition throughout his hospital course. Replacement of the baclofen pump and restoration of intrathecal delivery of the medication was necessary to trigger the patient's dramatic recovery and complete reversal of the withdrawal syndrome within approximately 48 hours. These findings indicate that a more direct method of treating infected baclofen pumps than immediate surgical removal is necessary to prevent the onset of intrathecal baclofen withdrawal syndrome. Various options for preventing the onset of the syndrome while simultaneously treating the infection are discussed.

Adult↗

Intrathecal drug therapy.

The direct application of drugs for non-hospitalized patients became a practical therapeutic modality with the advent of implantable drug delivery devices, or "pumps". This article describes the use of pumps for the intrathecal infusion of baclofen, morphine and clonidine.

Analgesics↗

[Intrathecal perfusion pump with baclofen in generalized dystonia].

OBJECTIVES: We show the effectiveness of treatment with continuous intrathecal baclofen infusion in a case of hereditary generalized dystonia refractory to anticholinergics, tetrabenazine, pimozide, L-dopa, benzodiazepines and thalamotomy. CLINICAL CASE: A 26 years old female patient, when she was 11 years old began with torsion dystonia in her left feet, that progressively worsened to involve her entire body. She had painful spasms. She had four brothers, three of them with dystonia and one healthy. Her uncle grandfather had similar symptoms. Complementary explorations to reject secondary origin was negatives. She was treated with high and progressive dosages of anticholinergics, pimozide, tetrabenazine, benzodiazepines, L-dopa and thalamotomy without improvement. Underwent intrathecal baclofen test dosing, we used 25, 50, 100 micrograms/day, the last one with improvement during 10 hours. A pump was inserted with an initial dose of 220 micrograms/day. After pump insertion, baclofen dosage was gradually increased to 450 micrograms/day. She had a great improvement in right part of her body and less in her left body. Painful spasms had disappeared. CONCLUSION: We propose continuous baclofen intrathecal infusion pump for patients with severe torsion dystonia that not response to ordinal treatment.

Adult↗

Methotrexate infusions as central nervous system prophylaxis in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia: the Norwegian experience.

This study included all 690 children in Norway diagnosed as having acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) from July 1975 till the end of 1997. Relapses and deaths were monitored until the end of 2000. Neuroleukemia prophylaxis was intravenous methotrexate (MTX) infusions as intermediate-dose methotrexate (IDM) or high-dose methotrexate (HDM) combined with intrathecal MTX. From 1992, systemic therapy was considerably intensified, and, in addition, patients in a subgroup of the high-risk and very high-risk groups were given prophylactic cranial irradiation. The overall findings showed that MTX significantly reduced central nervous system (CNS)-related relapses, and, in general, reinforced systemic therapy reduced significantly non-CNS relapses and deaths. The overall crude survival was 75%. During the study period, the crude survival improved for patients on standard protocols from initially 65 to 90%. Forty patients (6%) developed isolated CNS relapse, 27 (4%) had combined CNS relapse, whereas 180 (26%) had non-CNS relapse. When IDM and HDM were compared, the cumulative risk for isolated CNS relapse was significantly lower with HDM, 12 and 5%, respectively. For any relapses that involved the CNS, the risk remained significantly lower for HDM, 8 versus 18%. Of the 40 patients with isolated CNS relapse, 23 survived (58%).

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗

[Aggravation of congestive heart failure after cesarean section in a patient with undiscovered hyperthyroidism].

A 27-year-old woman with toxicity of pregnancy and congestive heart failure underwent an emergency cesarean section. In spite of antihypertensive drugs, blood pressure and heart rate were high preoperatively. She coughed many times and SpO2 was 88%. Circulatory state became stable without antihypertensive drugs under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia and continuous intravenous infusion of propofol intraoperatively. After surgery, blood pressure and heart rate became elevated again and congestive heart failure became worse. She was diagnosed as hyperthyroidism by postoperative laboratory examination. If we had discovered her hyperthyroidism, her symptoms of congestive heart failure would not have become worse. We should be more careful about hyperthyroidism in pregnancy because it is not rare.

Adult↗

[The blood-brain barrier: implications for chemotherapy in brain tumors].

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is located between the blood and the extracellular space of the brain. This barrier is formed by the brain capillaries whose endothelial cells have tight intercellular junctions. Transcellular passage of drugs from the bloodstream to the brain occurs selectively, in a manner dependent on the ability of the molecules to penetrale through cell membranes. The blood-brain barrier is one of the main factors of chemotherapy failure in central nervous system tumors. Penetration of a molecule from the bloodstream to the brain is dependent on the compound's liposolubility, expressed by the octanol-water separation coefficient. Following intravenous administration, most drugs fail to achieve adequate levels in the central nervous system for a sufficiently long period of time. A variety of techniques have been used in an attempt to increase CNS penetration of drugs normally shut out by the blood-brain barrier: high-dose chemotherapy, intrathecal injections, intraarterial injections, induction of hyperosmolarity to make the blood-brain barrier permeable. The best results are obtained using liposoluble drugs with optimal octanol-water separation coefficients, such as fotemustine. This compound given as single drug therapy in brain metastases from malignant melanomas has yielded response rates of up to 28.2%.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Intrathecal administration of morphine for pain of malignant origin.

Intrathecally administered morphine is a safe and effective method of providing analgesia, with the indicated constraints. Unencumbered by pain and the soporific effect of systemic narcotics, many, if not most, patients are able to lead productive lives. Neuroablative procedures are, in many instances, either delayed or eliminated entirely. As the number of support personnel familiar with the management of implantable systems increases, this avenue of treatment should become widely available.

Humans↗