scholarly journals Delayed Presentation of Traumatic Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea: Case Report and Literature Review

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. ar.2015.6.0132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Guyer ◽  
Justin H. Turner

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak is one of several complications that can occur after traumatic skull base injury. Although most patients present soon after the injury occurs, some can present years later, with resulting morbidity and the need for additional procedures. We present a case of a patient with a sphenoid sinus CSF leak who presented 12 years after a closed head injury that included a sphenoethmoid skull base fracture. We also reviewed the literature on this topic, with a discussion of previous reports of CSF leaks that occurred months, years, or decades after trauma. A late onset CSF leak appears to be a rare but important complication of traumatic skull base injury. This case highlights the need for clinicians to remain vigilant to the possibility of delayed CSF rhinorrhea, even years after traumatic head injury.

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. E4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish Sonig ◽  
Jai Deep Thakur ◽  
Prashant Chittiboina ◽  
Imad Saeed Khan ◽  
Anil Nanda

Object Various factors have been reported in literature to be associated with the development of posttraumatic meningitis. There is a paucity of data regarding skull fractures and facial fractures leading to CSF leaks and their association with the development of meningitis. The primary objective of this study was to analyze the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database to elucidate the factors associated with the development of posttraumatic meningitis. A secondary goal was to analyze the overall hospitalization cost related to posttraumatic meningitis and factors associated with that cost. Methods The NIS database was analyzed to identify patients admitted to hospitals with a diagnosis of head injury from 2005 through 2009. This data set was analyzed to assess the relationship of various clinical parameters that may affect the development of posttraumatic meningitis using binary logistic regression models. Additionally, the overall hospitalization cost for the head injury patients who did not undergo any neurosurgical intervention was further categorized into quartile groups, and a regression model was created to analyze various factors responsible for escalating the overall cost of the hospital stay. Results A total of 382,267 inpatient admissions for head injury were analyzed for the 2005–2009 period. Meningitis was reported in 0.2% of these cases (708 cases). Closed skull base fractures, open skull base fractures, cranial vault fractures, and maxillofacial fractures were reported in 20,524 (5.4%), 1089 (0.3%), 5064 (1.3%), and 88,649 (23.2%) patients, respectively. Among these patients with fractures, meningitis was noted in 0.17%, 0.18%, 0.05%, and 0.10% admissions, respectively. Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea was reported in 453 head injury patients (0.1%) and CSF otorrhea in 582 (0.2%). Of the patients reported to have CSF rhinorrhea, 35 (7.7%) developed meningitis, whereas in the cohort with CSF otorrhea, 15 patients (2.6%) developed meningitis. Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea (p < 0.001, OR 22.8, 95% CI 15.6–33.3), CSF otorrhea (p < 0.001, OR 9.2, 95% CI 5.2–16.09), and major neurosurgical procedures (p < 0.001, OR 5.6, 95% CI 4.8–6.5) were independent predictors of meningitis. Further, CSF rhinorrhea (p < 0.001, OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.6–2.7), CSF otorrhea (p < 0.001, OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.9–2.7), and posttraumatic meningitis (p < 0.001, OR 3.1, 95% CI 2.5–3.8) were independent factors responsible for escalating the cost of head injury in cases not requiring any major neurosurgical intervention. Conclusions Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea and CSF otorrhea are independent predictors of posttraumatic meningitis. Furthermore, meningitis and CSF fistulas may independently lead to significantly increased cost of hospitalization in head injury patients not undergoing any major neurosurgical intervention.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 1376-1377
Author(s):  
Razvan Hainarosie ◽  
Teodora Ghindea ◽  
Irina Gabriela Ionita ◽  
Mura Hainarosie ◽  
Cristian Dragos Stefanescu ◽  
...  

Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea represents drainage of cerebrospinal fluid into the nasal cavity. The first steps in diagnosing CSF rhinorrhea are a thorough history and physical examination of the patient. Other diagnostic procedures are the double ring sign, glucose content of the nasal fluid, Beta-trace protein test or beta 2-transferrin. To establish the exact location of the defect imagistic examinations are necessary. However, the gold standard CSF leakage diagnostic method is an intrathecal injection of fluorescein with the endoscopic identification of the defect. In this paper we analyze a staining test, using Methylene Blue solution, to identify the CSF leak�s location.


2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 333-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Castelnuovo ◽  
Silvia Mauri ◽  
Davide Locatelli ◽  
Enzo Emanuelli ◽  
Giovanni Delù ◽  
...  

Endoscopic repair of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is becoming a common procedure. The purpose of this study was to perform a literature analysis centering cases of treatment failure and to review our 31 cases with a 1-year minimum follow-up. An extensive search of the literature was conducted, which focused on success rate, follow-up, diagnostic techniques, graft material used, failure rate, and comments on failures. A retrospective analysis of our 31 patients was carried out, and all cases were treated with the endoscopic approach with a 1-year minimum follow-up. From the literature analysis, the median success rate at the first endoscopic attempt is 90%. Our success rate was 87.1%. Failures were analyzed. A unique protocol for CSF leak diagnosis does not exist; we suggest our diagnostic algorithm. Graft material used depends on the authors’ experience, and based on this review of cases to date, did not significantly influence the success rate. The analysis of cases of failure shows that the majority of authors omit details. More research is needed to improve prevention of failures.


Author(s):  
Peter A. Benedict ◽  
Joseph R. Connors ◽  
Micah R. Timen ◽  
Nupur Bhatt ◽  
Richard Lebowitz ◽  
...  

Objective: Diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks is sometimes challenging in the postoperative period following pituitary and ventral skull base surgery. Intrathecal fluorescein (ITF) may be useful in this setting. Design: Retrospective chart review Setting: Tertiary care center Methods and Participants: All patients who underwent pituitary and ventral skull base surgery performed by a single rhinologist between January 2017–March 2020 were included. There were 103 patients identified. Eighteen patients received 20 ITF injections due to clinical suspicion for CSF leak during the postoperative period without florid CSF rhinorrhea on clinical exam. Computed tomography scans with new or increasing intracranial air and intra-operative findings were used to confirm CSF leaks. Clinical courses were reviewed for at least 6 months after initial concern for leak as the final determinate of CSF leak. Main Outcome Measures: Specificity and safety of ITF Results: Eleven (61%) ITF patients were female and 7 (39%) were male. Average patient age was 52.50±11.89. There were 6 patients with confirmed postoperative CSF leaks, 3 of whom had evaluations with ITF. ITF use resulted in 2 true positives, 1 false negative, 17 true negatives and 0 false positives. ITF sensitivity was 67%, specificity was 100%, and positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 94.4%, respectively. There were no adverse effects from ITF use. Conclusions: Existing modalities for detecting postoperative CSF leaks suffer from suboptimal sensitivity and specificity, delayed result reporting, or limited availability. Intrathecal fluorescein represents a specific and safe test with potential utility in the postoperative setting.


Author(s):  
Ian B. Ross ◽  
Austin R.T. Colohan ◽  
Martin J. Black

ABSTRACT:There has been a recent renewal of interest in the extracranial repair of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea because of the relatively high morbidity associated with the transcranial approach. The authors describe an extracranial approach that involves packing of the sphenoid and ethmoid sinuses on the side of the CSF leak. A case of successful treatment of CSF rhinorrhea by this method is presented. The extracranial approach may be advantageous for the repair of CSF rhinorrhea and the authors advocate an increase in its utilization by neurosurgeons and otolaryngologists working as a team.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 555-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Thomas ◽  
S. Purkayastha ◽  
S. Vattoth ◽  
A.K. Gupta

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea after acoustic neuroma surgery is a well-known complication. CT cisternography can be used to demonstrate the entry of CSF from cerebellopontine angle cistern into the mastoid air cells, middle ear and then into nasopharynx via Eustachian tube. We report a case of paradoxical CSF rhinorrhea after surgery for acoustic neuroma in which the path of CSF leak was accurately demonstrated using CT cisternography.


2019 ◽  
pp. 305-309
Author(s):  
Milicevic Mihajlo ◽  
Aleksic Vuk ◽  
Ilic Rosanda ◽  
Scepanovic Vuk ◽  
Stanimirovic Aleksandar ◽  
...  

Pallister-Hall syndrome (PHS) is extremely rare autosomal dominant disorder with typical clinical features such as presence of polydactyly, hypothalamic hamartoma, bifid epiglottis, anal, renal, genitourinary and pulmonary abnormalities, mainly located in the midline of the body. Spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is also a rare condition, and it is used to describe nasal discharge of CSF unrelated to previous trauma, localized tumour, surgery, or previous radiation therapy. The exact cause is not yet fully understood. We report a case of adult female patient previously diagnosed with PHS and late onset of spontaneous nasal liquorrhea, due to defect in the anterior skull base. Although it can be incidental finding, we believe that described defect in the body midline can be another presentation of congenital craniofacial abnormality which are common in PHS.


2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. ons130-ons137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Mo Cho ◽  
Jung Yong Ahn ◽  
Jong Hee Chang ◽  
Sun Ho Kim

Abstract BACKGROUND: Autologous tissue grafting and postoperative lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage (PLD) have been used to prevent CSF rhinorrhea after transsphenoidal surgery. OBJECTIVE: To describe the technical details and efficacy of our techniques of using collagen fleece coated with fibrin sealant (TachoComb, Nycomed, Linz, Austria) instead of an autologous tissue graft and refraining from the use of PLD. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 307 consecutive patients who underwent a transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenoma from November 2005 to February 2008. Among them, 90 cases of intraoperative CSF leaks were repaired with TachoComb without an autologous tissue graft or PLD. The repair procedures were tailored according to CSF leakage type, and we used only Bioglue (Cryolife Inc, Atlanta, Georgia) for sellar floor reconstruction. RESULTS: The overall rate of CSF rhinorrhea was 2.2% (2 of 90 cases). The 2 cases of CSF rhinorrhea resulted from large arachnoid defects, and there were no adverse effects from TachoComb such as transmission of viral disease or infection. CONCLUSION: Our technique is an alternative method to the traditional autologous tissue graft technique. PLD is not an essential procedure for the prevention of CSF rhinorrhea if the intraoperative CSF leak is completely sealed off during the transsphenoidal surgery. However, in cases of large arachnoid defects, aggressive repair of the arachnoid defect and sellar floor reconstruction with bone or bony substitutes should be considered in conjunction with our methods.


2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. 310-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Kumar Sinha ◽  
Sumit Goyal

ABSTRACT Study Design: Retrospective descriptive study of an innovative surgical technique. Objective: To assess the feasibility and success of repair of transfrontal sinus cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea through pterional transcranial extradural approach using endoscope. Summary of Background Data: Repair of CSF rhinorrhea has seen advancement with the evolution of endoscopic transnasal techniques. However, leaks from defect in the posterior wall of frontal sinus still remain a challenge for the skull base surgeons and requires conventional craniotomy more often. We describe a novel technique to repair these leaks by purely endoscopic pterional extradural (PEPE) approach thereby avoiding complications associated with conventional craniotomy and endoscopic transnasal approaches. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five patients with traumatic CSF rhinorrhea from the posterior wall of frontal sinus underwent repair with the present technique. They were followed up for 6–18 months and were evaluated for feasibility of procedure, recurrence of leak, and occurrence of the fresh neurological deficit. Results: Thirty-five patients underwent CSF rhinorrhea repair using the above technique. The procedure was accomplished in all patients without any intraoperative complications. There was no requirement of blood transfusion in any case. All patients had a cessation of CSF leak in the postoperative period, and there was no recurrence. There was no evidence of frontal lobe retraction injury in any of these patients, and no fresh neurological deficit was observed. Conclusion: This PEPE approach to repair CSF leak through the posterior wall of the frontal sinus is a novel technique in which we can avoid disadvantages associated with both conventional craniotomy as well as transnasal endoscopic approaches.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. E3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateo Ziu ◽  
Jennifer Gentry Savage ◽  
David F. Jimenez

Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea is a serious and potentially fatal condition because of an increased risk of meningitis and brain abscess. Approximately 80% of all cases occur in patients with head injuries and craniofacial fractures. Despite technical advances in the diagnosis and management of CSF rhinorrhea caused by craniofacial injury through the introduction of MRI and endoscopic extracranial surgical approaches, difficulties remain. The authors review here the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of CSF rhinorrhea relevant exclusively to traumatic anterior skull base injuries and attempt to identify areas in which further work is needed.


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