Reversal of an unintentional spinal anesthetic by cerebrospinal lavage.
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Spinal subdural empyema (SSE) is a rare variety of intraspinal infection. SSE should be suspected in patients presenting with fever, back pain, and signs of cord or nerve root compression. Two patients with SSE are presented. The first patient complained of fever and back pain. She had no neurological deficit but was found to have SSE. The second patient, who presented with intracerebral hemorrhage in the fifth month of pregnancy and spontaneous abortion, was found to have SSE at lumbar puncture. The clinical manifestations and management are discussed.
The authors report a series of 80 cases of traumatic subdural hygroma and discuss the clinical and radiological features, management, surgical results, and pathogenesis. Changes in mental status without focal signs of brain damage were noted in over 50% of the cases. A clinical course marked by stabilization without complete recovery of neurological function was found in over 40% of the cases of "simple hygroma." The lumbar cerebrospinal fluid often showed hemorrhage and elevation of the protein content. Skull fractures were found in 39% of the cases, and subdural hygromas were associated with cerebral atrophy, cortical contusions, subdural hematomas, and overlying epidural hematomas. The characteristic angiographic and computed tomographic scan findings are discussed, as are surgical pathology and outcome. Several theories of pathogenesis are presented. The authors advocate simple burr hole drainage as the treatment of choice. Significant reaccumulation may occur occasionally.
A simplified technique for monitoring intracranial pressure via a subdural catheter is presented. It utilizes a commercially available Silastic catheter inserted through a frontal twist drill approach. Twenty patients have been treated thus far without complication. Advantages over other extraventricular monitoring techniques are presented.
Fifty patients with medically refractory partial seizure disorders have undergone subdural electrode placement for seizure focus localization. Standard scalp telemetry recordings of ictal events had failed to demonstrate accurately the site of seizure onset, and these patients were considered candidates for telemetry with intracerebral depth electrodes. Excellent recordings of interictal and ictal events were obtained, and localization of the epileptogenic focus was derived from recordings made during spontaneously occurring seizures. Electrocorticograms were monitored for up to 21 days. The recordings enabled a surgical decision to be made in 43 of 50 cases (86%). Thirty patients have subsequently undergone cortical excision of their foci with good results. Subdural electrode recordings are a significant addition to the armamentarium of the neurosurgeon attempting to localize surgical seizure foci, offering a low morbidity procedure as an alternative to depth electrode implantation.
Five patients with traumatic subdural hygroma are reported with reference to its pathology and meningeal enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging. Hygromas showed initially iso- and, later, high intensity on both T1- and T2-weighted images compared with the intensity of the cerebrospinal fluid. In all cases of the thick hygromas, magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium diethylene-triamine-pentaacetic acid showed meningeal enhancement. Intravenously injected radioisotope immediately flowed into the hygromas, but computed tomographic cisternography and gross inspection during the surgery showed no evidence of an influx of cerebrospinal fluid into the hygromas. Microscopic examination of the enhanced meninges revealed vascularized neomembrane with numerous fenestrations and pinocytosis underneath the dura mater. It is suggested from these data that the subdural neomembrane is associated with the development of the traumatic subdural hygromas. Meningeal enhancement would be useful to clarify the growing mechanism of traumatic subdural hygromas.
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A 9-year-old patient presented with an acute left hemiparesis secondary to an intradural hemorrhage of the cervical spinal cord. Angiography revealed a dural arteriovenous (AV) fistula with multiple venous aneurysms fed by a radicular branch of the right vertebral artery. This AV fistula did not contribute blood flow to the cervical segment of the spinal cord, which was tested by an intra-arterial injection of methohexital. Interruption of the fistula was possible by transluminal embolization with polyvinyl alcohol and silk. At a 6-month follow-up, the patient was neurologically intact, and angiography demonstrated no AV fistula. This case illustrates an unusual presentation of a dural AV fistula. Dural AV fistulas are rare in the cervical region and extremely unusual in patients less than 20 years of age. The lesion proved to be amenable to transluminal embolization alone, without the need for surgery, with a dramatic resolution of the neurological deficit.
OBJECTIVE: The Spiegelberg 3-PN intraparenchymal pressure sensor was clinically evaluated. DESCRIPTION OF INSTRUMENTATION: The Spiegelberg intraparenchymal pressure sensor is a low-cost device that uniquely performs regular automatic zeroing in situ throughout the measurement period. OPERATIVE TECHNIQUE: The Spiegelberg sensor was inserted in 87 patients who required intracranial pressure monitoring as part of their routine management. Complications were assessed by postoperative computed tomographic scanning and clinical investigation. The automated zeroing procedure was assessed after implantation of the sensor and during long-term measurement. In five patients, the "gold standard' of intraventricular pressure was measured simultaneously and compared with the intraparenchymal or subdural Spiegelberg 3-PN pressure. EXPERIENCE AND RESULTS: No complications associated with the Spiegelberg sensor were observed. The duration of monitoring ranged from 3 to 28 days (mean, 10 d). In 3 patients, technical problems occurred, and in 84 patients, the pressure measurement was successful, including the automatic zeroing procedures performed by the monitor after insertion and hourly thereafter. The absolute difference between the Spiegelberg reading and the intraventricular pressure was less than +/-3 mm Hg in 99.6% and less than +/-2 mm Hg in 91.3% of readings. An Altman-Bland bias plot revealed good agreement between the two methods, with an average bias of 0.5 mm Hg, but revealed a significant trend toward 10% lower Spiegelberg readings with increasing intracranial pressure of >25 mm Hg. There was no difference between intraparenchymal and subdural locations. CONCLUSION: The Spiegelberg 3-PN sensor was reliable and simple to use. It can be recommended for routine intraparenchymal and subdural pressure measurement at a considerably lower price compared with other tip transducers and has the unique advantage of automated zeroing in vivo.
OBJECTIVE: Subdural arrays of grid and strip electrodes are frequently used in epilepsy patients to localize the seizure focus and determine the location of critical brain functions via stimulation mapping. Postoperatively, the majority of patients with implanted subdural electrodes develop subacute extra-axial collections (EACs). Although conservative management is appropriate in most of these cases, occasionally patients manifest neurological symptoms that may necessitate reoperation for collection evacuation. Currently, there is little information available regarding the range of EAC size and the potential correlation between EAC size and symptom development. To facilitate treatment decision-making in postoperative subdural electrode patients, we reviewed and compared the computed tomographic (CT) features of postelectrode placement EACs in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and CT scans of 22 consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy for placement of subdural grid and strip electrodes at Columbia University Medical Center. Medical records were reviewed for neurological complications from the time of grid placement until its removal. Each EAC was measured on CT for volume (% of total cranial volume), maximal thickness, and midline shift. One patient was excluded secondary to the development of an intracerebral hemorrhage. RESULTS: Thirteen of 21 patients remained asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic during their hospitalization, with only mild to moderate, intermittent, postoperative headaches. The remaining eight developed symptoms such as persistent and severe headache, transient motor deficit, or speech impairment. Two of these patients underwent reoperation for hematoma evacuation. EACs in asymptomatic patients had a mean volume, maximal thickness, and midline shift of 5.7%, 1.25 cm, and 0.33 cm, respectively. EACs in symptomatic patients had a mean volume, maximal thickness, and midline shift of 7.7%, 1.46 cm, and 0.5 cm, respectively. Differences between maximal thickness and midline shift did not approach statistical significance. Despite this, the difference between the mean volume of symptomatic and asymptomatic EACs was statistically significant (P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The conventional methods of midline shift and maximal thickness for assessing EAC size did not adequately differentiate symptomatic and asymptomatic subdural electrode patients with EACs. Although total volume calculation using digital planimetric analysis demonstrated a statistically significant difference, we found no clear threshold volume that correlated with clinical course. Therefore, the appearance of EACs on CT scans is of limited use in predicting the development of symptoms and possible postoperative complications after subdural grid placement. Clinical judgment must guide management and determine the potential need for reoperation.
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A case of staphylococcal subdural abscess at cauda equina level region in a 42 year old male patient is reported. The neurological signs presented in this condition are discussed briefly and it is pointed out the importance of laminectomy associated to antibiotic treatment to achieve good outcome.
A case of a 10-year-old boy with a congenital arachnoid cyst in the right middle cranial fossa is reported. The symptoms were precipitated by head injury of moderate intensity, occurred some days before the beginning of the clinical picture. The computerized tomography has demonstrated the existence of a simultaneous right fronto-parietal subdural hygroma that was responsible for the intracranial hypertension syndrome. The influence of the cyst in the hygroma formation has been suggested. The mechanisms of growth, the etiology, clinical aspects, the diagnostics and the surgical treatment of the arachnoid cysts are discussed.
Spinal subdural empyema is a very unusual condition. About 40 cases have been previously reported. The authors describe another case, mentioning the difficulties in diagnosis particularly when no primary infection is known. In these circumstances, the neurological signs and MRI are important; MRI demonstrates the level of the lesion and its subdural localization. Surgical treatment and antibiotics are clearly indicated and the earliest it is done, the better the results.
Frontal lobe epilepsies may present difficulties in focus localization in the pre-operative work-up for epilepsy surgery. This is specially true in patients with normal MRIs. We report on a 16 years-old girl that started with seizures by the age of 8 years. They were brief nocturnal episodes with automatisms such as bicycling and boxing. Seizure frequency ranged from 4-10 per night. Scalp EEG showed few right frontal convexity spiking and intense secondary bilateral synchrony (SBS). High resolution MRI directed to the frontal lobes was normal. Ictal SPECT suggested a right fronto-lateral focus. Ictal video-EEG showed no focal onset. She was submitted to invasive recordings after subdural plates implantation. Electrodes covered all the frontal convexity and mesial surface bilaterally. Ictal recordings disclosed stereotyped seizures starting from the right mesial frontal. Using a high-resolution tool to measure intra and interhemispheric latencies, the timing and direction of seizure spread from the right fronto-mesial region were studied. Motor strip mapping was performed by means of electrical stimulation. She was submitted to a right frontal lobe resection, 1.5 cm ahead of the motor strip and has been seizure free since surgery (8 months). Pathological examination found a 4 mm area of cortical dysplasia. Invasive studies are needed to allow adequate localization in patients with non-localizatory non-invasive work-up and may lead to excellent results in relation to seizures after surgery.
PURPOSE: To study the seizure's outcome in patients with refractory epilepsy and normal MRI submitted to resections including the rolandic cortex. METHODS: Four adult patients were studied. All patients had motor or somatosensory simple partial seizures and normal MRI and were submitted to subdural grids' implantation with extensive coverage of the cortical convexity (1 in the non-dominant and 3 in the dominant hemisphere). RESULTS: ECoG was able to define focal areas of seizures' onset in every patient. All patients were submitted to resection of the face and tongue motor and sensitive cortex; two patients had resections including the perirolandic cortex and 2 had additional cortical removals. Three patients are seizures' free and one had a greater then 90% reduction in seizure frequency. CONCLUSION: Resections including the face and tongue rolandic cortex can be safely performed even within the dominant hemisphere.
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