Pneumocephalus in patients with CSF shunts

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 532-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Ruge ◽  
Leonard J. Cerullo ◽  
David G. McLone

✓ The authors present two cases of pneumocephalus occurring in patients with permanent shunts and review nine previously reported cases. Mental status changes and headache are the most common presenting symptoms. Six of the 11 cases of pneumocephalus occurred in patients with shunt placement for hydrocephalus secondary to aqueductal stenosis. In these patients, thinned cerebrospinal fluid barriers secondary to longstanding increased intracranial pressure may predispose them to pneumocephalus. Temporary extraventricular drainage is an effective method of treatment in this group of patients. Two other etiologies are identified with significance to treatment, and the role of craniotomy is discussed.

1975 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Pitts ◽  
Charles B. Wilson ◽  
Herbert H. Dedo ◽  
Robert Weyand

✓ The authors describe a case of massive pneumocephalus following ventriculoperitoneal shunting for hydrocephalus. After multiple diagnostic and surgical procedures, congenital defects in the tegmen tympani of both temporal bones were identified as the sources for entry of air. A functioning shunt intermittently established negative intracranial pressure and allowed ingress of air through these abnormalities; when the shunt was occluded, air did not enter the skull, and there was no cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Repair of these middle ear defects prevented further recurrence of pneumocephalus.


1993 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zain Alabedeen B. Jamjoom ◽  
Vinita Raina ◽  
Abdulfattah Al-Jamali ◽  
Abdulhakim B. Jamjoom ◽  
Basim Yacub ◽  
...  

✓ The authors describe a 37-year-old man with the classic clinical features of Hand-Schüller-Christian disease. He presented with symptoms of increased intracranial pressure due to obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to a huge xanthogranuloma involving falx cerebri and tentorium cerebelli. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies failed to demonstrate Langerhans histiocytes, however. The implication of this finding is discussed in light of the recent relevant literature.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-347
Author(s):  
J. Hower ◽  
H. E. Clar ◽  
M. Düchting

We read Dr. Bray's communication with great interest. With actually three cases of aqueductal stenosis after mumps being recorded we cannot doubt that the experimental findings of Johnson and Johnson have a bearing on human pathology. Our patient, a 6½-year-old boy, underwent evaluation of his megacephalus five months before the onset of mumps. At that time a pneumoencephalogram could be obtained by lumbar filling. Cerebrospinal fluid flow was considered marginally adequate. Three months after mumps meningoencephalitis the patient presented with symptoms of increased intracranial pressure (papilledema, sudden increase in head circumference, and widening of the coronar suture).


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry W. S. Schroeder ◽  
Christiane Schweim ◽  
Klaus H. Schweim ◽  
Michael R. Gaab

Object. The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate aqueductal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow after endoscopic aqueductoplasty. In all patients, preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed hydrocephalus caused by aqueductal stenosis and lack of aqueductal CSF flow.Methods. In 14 healthy volunteers and in eight patients with aqueductal stenosis who had undergone endoscopic aqueductoplasty, aqueductal CSF flow was investigated using cine cardiac-gated phase-contrast MR imaging. For qualitative evaluation of CSF flow, the authors used an in-plane phase-contrast sequence in the midsagittal plane. The MR images were displayed in a closed-loop cine format. Quantitative through-plane measurements were performed in the axial plane perpendicular to the aqueduct. Evaluation revealed no significant difference in aqueductal CSF flow between healthy volunteers and patients with regard to temporal parameters, CSF peak and mean velocities, mean flow, and stroke volume. All restored aqueducts have remained patent 7 to 31 months after surgery.Conclusions. Aqueductal CSF flow after endoscopic aqueductoplasty is similar to aqueductal CSF flow in healthy volunteers. The data indicate that endoscopic aqueductoplasty seems to restore physiological aqueductal CSF flow.


1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 817-819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles C. Duncan

✓ Proximal shunt obstruction or obstruction of the ventricular catheter may present with signs and symptoms of shunt failure with either no cerebrospinal fluid flow or a falsely low intracranial pressure (ICP) upon shunt tap. The author reports a technique for lowering the ICP and for measuring the pressure in patients with such obstruction by cannulation of the reservoir and ventricular catheter to penetrate into the ventricle with a 3½-in. No. 22 spinal needle. The findings in 20 cases in which this approach was utilized are summarized.


1971 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Schettini ◽  
Lachlan McKay ◽  
Raymond Majors ◽  
Joseph Mahig ◽  
Arnold H. Nevis

✓ A method for monitoring brain surface pressure through the intact dura has been designed based upon the concept of a coplanar, non-sensitive ring transducer. The transducer detects the underlying brain pressure while the stretching forces of the dural membrane are dissipated at the outer ring. The strain gauge consists of a piezo-resistive silicon-chip sensing element and a dummy element that provides temperature compensation. Cisternal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain surface pressures were monitored simultaneously in dogs under general anesthesia, both before and after increased intracranial pressure was produced experimentally. A difference was found between CSF and brain surface pressures. Possible explanations for this observation are discussed.


1971 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador Gonzalez-Cornejo

✓ The author reports the safe and satisfactory use of Conray ventriculography in 26 patients with increased intracranial pressure and discusses his technique for this procedure.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Mcgirt ◽  
Graeme Woodworth ◽  
George Thomas ◽  
Neil Miller ◽  
Michael Williams ◽  
...  

Object. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts effectively reverse symptoms of pseudotumor cerebri postoperatively, but long-term outcome has not been investigated. Lumboperitoneal (LP) shunts are the mainstay of CSF shunts for pseudotumor cerebri; however, image-guided stereotaxy and neuroendoscopy now allow effective placement of a ventricular catheter without causing ventriculomegaly in these cases. To date it remains unknown if CSF shunts provide long-term relief from pseudotumor cerebri and whether a ventricular shunt is better than an LP shunt. The authors investigated these possibilities. Methods. The authors reviewed the records of all shunt placement procedures that were performed for intractable headache due to pseudotumor cerebri at one institution between 1973 and 2003. Using proportional hazards regression analysis, predictors of treatment failure (continued headache despite a properly functioning shunt) were assessed, and shunt revision and complication rates were compared between LP and ventricular (ventriculoperitoneal [VP] or ventriculoatrial [VAT]) shunts. Forty-two patients underwent 115 shunt placement procedures: 79 in which an LP shunt was used and 36 in which a VP or VAT shunt was used. Forty patients (95%) experienced a significant improvement in their headaches immediately after the shunt was inserted. Severe headache recurred despite a properly functioning shunt in eight (19%) and 20 (48%) patients by 12 and 36 months, respectively, after the initial shunt placement surgery. Seventeen patients without papilledema and 19 patients in whom preoperative symptoms had occurred for longer than 2 years experienced recurrent headache, making patients with papilledema or long-term symptoms fivefold (relative risk [RR] 5.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5–17.8; p < 0.01) or 2.5-fold (RR 2.51, 95% CI 1.01–9.39; p = 0.05) more likely to experience headache recurrence, respectively. In contrast to VP or VAT shunts, LP shunts were associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk of shunt revision (RR 2.5, 95% CI 1.5–4.3; p < 0.001) due to a threefold increased risk of shunt obstruction (RR 3, 95% CI 1.5–5.7; p < 0.005), but there were similar risks between the two types of shunts for overdrainage (RR 2.3, 95% CI 0.8–7.9; p = 0.22), distal catheter migration (RR 2.1, 95% CI 0.3–19.3; p = 0.55), and shunt infection (RR 1.3, 95% CI 0.3–13.2; p = 0.75). Conclusions. Based on their 30-year experience in the treatment of these patients, the authors found that CSF shunts were extremely effective in the acute treatment of pseudotumor cerebri—associated intractable headache, providing long-term relief in the majority of patients. Lack of papilledema and long-standing symptoms were risk factors for treatment failure. The use of ventricular shunts for pseudotumor cerebri was associated with a lower risk of shunt obstruction and revision than the use of LP shunts. Using ventricular shunts in patients with papilledema or symptoms lasting less than 2 years should be considered for those with pseudotumor cerebri—associated intractable headache.


1998 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Polin ◽  
Murad Bavbek ◽  
Mark E. Shaffrey ◽  
Kevin Billups ◽  
Christopher A. Bogaev ◽  
...  

Object. The goal of this study was to explore whether the levels of soluble adhesion molecules were elevated in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This association was suggested by the known inflammatory response in vasospasm and the role of vascular adhesion molecules in regulating leukocytic adhesion to, and migration across, vascular endothelium. Methods. A prospective analysis was performed on CSF samples obtained in 17 patients who had suffered a recent aneurysmal SAH and in 16 control patients by using quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule—1 (ICAM—1), vascular adhesion molecule—1 (VCAM-1), and L-selectin. Levels of soluble forms of E-selectin (p = 0.0013), ICAM-1 (p = 0.0001), and VCAM-1 (p = 0.048) were found to be elevated in the CSF of patients after SAH compared with levels in the CSF of normal controls, patients with unruptured aneurysms, and patients tested months after SAH occurred. In addition, individual patients tested at the time of their initial ictus demonstrated a fall in adhesion molecule levels over time. Levels of E-selectin (p = 0.044) were highest in patients who later developed moderate or severe vasospasm. Conclusions. Adhesion molecules are known to be involved in white cell adherence to the endothelium and subsequent diapedesis and migration in which a role in initiation of tissue damage is postulated. The authors have demonstrated the elevation of three adhesion molecules, with severely elevated levels of E-selectin seen in patients who later develop vasospasm. A correlation with a role of vascular adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm is suggested.


1989 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanaris P. Panagopoulos ◽  
Ferenc A. Jolesz ◽  
Mustapha El-Azouzi ◽  
Peter McL. Black

✓ This report describes two cases of a mucinous cyst (Rathke's cleft cyst) in the pituitary stalk: the first was found in a 29-year-old woman 5 years following pregnancy and the second in a 30-year-old woman 6 years after pregnancy. The presenting symptoms are analyzed and the diagnosis is discussed, with emphasis on the role of magnetic resonance imaging.


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