Role of dural fenestrations in acute subdural hematoma

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph N. Guilburd ◽  
Gil E. Sviri

Object. Patients with acute subdural hematomas (ASDHs) have higher mortality and lower functional recovery rates compared with those of other head-injured patients. Early surgical decompression and active intensive care treatment represent, so far, the best way to assist these patients. Paradoxically, one of the factors contributing to poor outcomes in cases of ASDHs could be rapid surgical decompression, owing to the severe extrusion of the brain through the craniotomy defect in response to acute brain swelling. To avoid the deleterious consequences of abrupt decompression of the subdural space with disruption of brain tissue, the authors have adopted a new surgical technique for evacuation of ASDHs. This procedure consists of creating multiple fenestrations of the dura (MFD) in a meshlike fashion and removing clots through the small dural openings that are left open, avoiding the creation of a wide dural opening and the disruption of and additional damage to brain tissue. Methods. Thirty-one patients (26 male and five female patients with a mean age of 32.5 years) harboring ASDHs were treated using this method. On admission there were 16 patients (51.5%) with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 3 to 5, 11 patients (35.5%) with GCS scores of 6 to 8, and four patients (12.9%) with GCS scores of 9 to 12. Postoperative computerized tomography scans of the brain revealed evacuation of more than 80% of the hematoma in 29 of 31 patients. The overall mortality rate in this group was 51.6%. Conclusions. This preliminary report of a new surgical approach for patients who have sustained ASDHs should be considered to avoid abrupt disruption of the brain and to allow the gradual and gentle release of subdural clots. This is especially important in cases in which there are severe midline shifts and a tight brain. Further clinical studies should be conducted in a more selected series to estimate the impact of this new procedure on morbidity and mortality rates.

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 1013-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupert Kett-White ◽  
Peter J. Hutchinson ◽  
Pippa G. Al-Rawi ◽  
Marek Czosnyka ◽  
Arun K. Gupta ◽  
...  

Object. The aim of this study was to investigate potential episodes of cerebral ischemia during surgery for large and complicated aneurysms, by examining the effects of arterial temporary clipping and the impact of confounding variables such as blood pressure and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage. Methods. Brain tissue PO2, PCO2, and pH, as well as temperature and extracellular glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and glutamate were monitored in 46 patients by using multiparameter sensors and microdialysis. Baseline data showed that brain tissue PO2 decreased significantly, below a mean arterial pressure (MAP) threshold of 70 mm Hg. Further evidence of its relationship with cerebral perfusion pressure was shown by an increase in mean brain tissue PO2 after drainage of CSF from the basal cisterns (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.01). Temporary clipping was required in 31 patients, with a mean total duration of 14 minutes (range 3–52 minutes), causing brain tissue PO2 to decrease and brain tissue PCO2 to increase (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.01). In patients in whom no subsequent infarction developed in the monitored region, brain tissue PO2 fell to 11 mm Hg (95% confidence interval 8–14 mm Hg). A brain tissue PO2 level below 8 mm Hg for 30 minutes was associated with infarction in any region (p < 0.05 according to the Fisher exact test); other parameters were not predictive of infarction. Intermittent occlusions of less than 30 minutes in total had little effect on extracellular chemistry. Large glutamate increases were only seen in two patients, in both of whom brain tissue PO2 during occlusion was continuously lower than 8 mm Hg for longer than 38 minutes. Conclusions. The brain tissue PO2 decreases with hypotension, and, when it is below 8 mm Hg for longer than 30 minutes during temporary clipping, it is associated with increasing extracellular glutamate levels and cerebral infarction.


1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Kornblith ◽  
Michael Walker

✓ There continues to be an extensive effort to develop chemotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of malignant gliomas of the brain. In the past 5 years there have been literally hundreds of trials of new agents, combinations of old and new agents, and even new routes and approaches to the delivery of chemotherapy. In this review, the literature has been studied and the individual reports analyzed to evaluate the impact of the new findings on clinical management of the patient with malignant glioma of the brain. The major areas of progress include the addition of new drugs with varying modes of action, the use of combinations of drugs in a synergistic fashion, and the development of new routes of drug delivery. None of the advances has brought about the revolution in clinical care that is so eagerly sought, but clearly the amount of new knowledge gained by these studies helps in understanding how to use chemotherapy more effectively. Furthermore, the remarkable degree of interest and involvement in the use of chemotherapy promises that an even greater number of patients with malignant gliomas will be considered for vigorous and enthusiastic clinical management programs even if chemotherapy itself is not the key modality in the treatment of a specific patient.


1974 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 706-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukitaka Ushio ◽  
Toru Hayakawa ◽  
Heitaro Mogami

✓ Malignant gliomas were induced in strain ddN mice by intracerebral implantation of a 20-methylcholanthrene pellet. The uptake and distribution of tritiated methotrexate (MTX-3H) in the tumor were investigated by radioactive assay and radioautography after single intravenous or intrathecal injections. By either route, a large amount of MTX-3H was taken up by gliomas, and a significantly higher concentration was observed in tumor than in the brain tissue. At 24 hours after intrathecal administration, the uptake of MTX-3H by gliomas exceeded that achieved after intravenous injection, although the drug dosage in the latter was 10 times that in the former.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Reinert ◽  
Benoit Schaller ◽  
Hans Rudolf Widmer ◽  
Rolf Seiler ◽  
Ross Bullock

Object. Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) imposes a huge metabolic load on brain tissue, which can be summarized initially as a state of hypermetabolism and hyperglycolysis. In experiments O2 consumption has been shown to increase early after trauma, especially in the presence of high lactate levels and forced O2 availability. In recent clinical studies the effect of increasing O2 availability on brain metabolism has been analyzed. By their nature, however, clinical trauma models suffer from a heterogeneous injury distribution. The aim of this study was to analyze, in a standardized diffuse brain injury model, the effect of increasing the fraction of inspired O2 on brain glucose and lactate levels, and to compare this effect with the metabolism of the noninjured sham-operated brain. Methods. A diffuse severe TBI model developed by Foda and Maramarou, et al., in which a 420-g weight is dropped from a height of 2 m was used in this study. Forty-one male Wistar rats each weighing approximately 300 g were included. Anesthesized rats were monitored by placing a femoral arterial line for blood pressure and blood was drawn for a blood gas analysis. Two time periods were defined: Period A was defined as preinjury and Period B as postinjury. During Period B two levels of fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) were studied: air (FiO2 0.21) and oxygen (FiO2 1). Four groups were studied including sham-operated animals: air-air-sham (AAS); air-O2-sham (AOS); air-air-trauma (AAT); and air-O2-trauma (AOT). In six rats the effect of increasing the FiO2 on serum glucose and lactate was analyzed. During Period B lactate values in the brain determined using microdialysis were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the AOT group than in the AAT group and glucose values in the brain determined using microdialysis were significantly higher (p < 0.04). No differences were demonstrated in the other groups. Increasing the FiO2 had no significant effect on the serum levels of glucose and lactate. Conclusions. Increasing the FiO2 influences dialysate glucose and lactate levels in injured brain tissue. Using an FiO2 of 1 influences brain metabolism in such a way that lactate is significantly reduced and glucose significantly increased. No changes in dialysate glucose and lactate values were found in the noninjured brain.


1987 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Shapiro ◽  
Ira J. Kohn ◽  
Futoshi Takei ◽  
Corinna Zee

✓ Intracranial pressure (ICP) was measured simultaneously at multiple sites in cats to determine if transmantle pressure gradients were present in progressive hydrocephalus. The cats underwent craniectomy and intracisternal injection of kaolin; 4 to 9 weeks later ICP was measured at the ventricle, cisterna magna, and convexity subarachnoid space, and in the brain tissue and the sagittal sinus. In 13 cats in which ventricular size conformed to previously established norms for duration of hydrocephalus, there were no demonstrable gradients of pressure at any of the sites of measurement according to one-way analysis of variance (p > 0.05). The mean (± standard error of the mean) peak and trough pressures (in mm Hg) at each site were: ventricle, 12.7 ± 0.7 and 12.0 ± 0.6; cisterna magna, 12.9 ± 0.8 and 12.3 ± 0.7; subarachnoid space, 12.7 ± 0.8 and 12.1 ± 0.7; brain tissue, 12.9 ± 0.9 and 12.4 ± 0.9; and sagittal sinus, 13.1 ± 0.8 and 11.9 ± 0.8. These results indicate that ventricular expansion can progress without measurable transmantle pressure gradients.


1992 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 640-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart A. Grossman ◽  
Carla Reinhard ◽  
O. Michael Colvin ◽  
Mark Chasin ◽  
Robert Brundrett ◽  
...  

✓ The local concentration and distribution of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) within normal brain tissue were studied following surgical implantation of biodegradable polymer containing BCNU in New Zealand White rabbits. Cylindrical discs of poly(bis(p-carboxyphenoxy)-propane:sebacic acid) copolymer in a 20:80 formulation were made containing [3H]-inulin or [3H]-BCNU labeled in the methylene hydrogens of the chloroethyl groups. These were implanted in the brains of 56 New Zealand White rabbits. The animals were sacrificed 3, 7, 14, or 21 days later and the brains were rapidly removed, frozen, and prepared for quantitative autoradiography. Autoradiographs from coronal sections bisecting the polymer were analyzed to determine both the proportion of the brain section exposed to the tracer and the local drug concentrations as a function of distance from the polymer. Tritiated BCNU was also injected directly into the brains of eight additional rabbits, and local brain concentrations were studied over time. The results of this study demonstrate that approximately 50% of the area of the brain sections was exposed to radiolabeled compound 3 days after BCNU-polymer implantation, 15% at 7 days, and less than 10% at 14 and 21 days. Polymer discs containing 600 µg BCNU generated 6 mM concentrations of BCNU in brain tissue 10 mm from the polymer at 3 and 7 days. Pharmacological studies demonstrated that approximately 25% of the tritium label was associated with intact BCNU 3 days following polymer implantation. Radiolabeled inulin delivered by polymer remained dispersed throughout the ipsilateral hemisphere for 14 days. Direct injection of [3H]-BCNU into brain parenchyma resulted in widely distributed tracer at 1 and 3 hours with rapid disappearance thereafter. It is concluded that local delivery of BCNU to brain tissue with this polymeric drug delivery system results in sustained high local concentrations of BCNU which may be of value in the treatment of patients with brain tumors.


1981 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 708-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Takahashi ◽  
Shinya Manaka ◽  
Keiji Sano

✓ A high potassium concentration ([K+]o) in brain tissue impedes neuronal activity, as observed in spreading cortical depression. Experimental studies were performed on mice and rats to determine the role of changes of [K+]o in cerebral concussion. In the first experiment, a 600 gm-cm impact was delivered to the vertex of the mouse skull. This impact induced arrest of spontaneous movement for 465 ± 55.9 seconds (mean ± SD), accompanied by apnea, bradycardia, and low-voltage electroencephalographic recordings (EEG). The injury was also frequently followed immediately by epilepsy. This impact induced an increase of cortical [K+]o from the control level of 4.1 ± 1.8 mM to 20–30 mM, with gradual recovery within 30 minutes to the control level. In the second experiment, an impact of 9000 gm-cm was delivered to the midline parieto-occipital area of the rat and produced concussion-like phenomena similar to those elicited in mice. This level of trauma induced a significant increase of cortical [K+]o from the control level of 4.2 ± 0.8 mM to 20–50 mM in all of the rats, and also a significant increase of brain-stem [K+]o from 3.9 ± 0.6 to 20–30 mM in 73% of the rats. In these latter rats, the impact also induced apnea and a transient elevation of blood pressure, and resulted in low-voltage EEG recordings. In 23% of the rats in which [K+]o changes in the brain stem were not significant, the impact caused a transient reduction of blood pressure. The present study disclosed that an increase of [K+]o in the cerebral cortex and also in the brain stem is an important element in the phenomenon of concussion.


2005 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 724-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taek Hyun Kwon ◽  
Dong Sun ◽  
Wilson P. Daugherty ◽  
Bruce D. Spiess ◽  
M. Ross Bullock

Object. This study was conducted to determine whether perfluorocarbons (PFCs) improve brain oxygenation and reduce ischemic brain damage in an acute subdural hematoma (SDH) model in rats. Methods. Forty adult male Sprague—Dawley rats were allocated to four groups: 1) controls, acute SDH treated with saline and 30% O2; 2) 30-PFC group, acute SDH treated with PFC infusion in 30% O2; 3) 100-O2 group, acute SDH treated with 100% O2; and 4) 100-PFC group, acute SDH treated with PFC plus 100% O2. Ten minutes after the induction of acute SDH, a single dose of PFC was infused and 30% or 100% O2 was administered simultaneously. Four hours later, half of the rats were killed by perfusion for histological study to assess the extent of ischemic brain damage. The other half were used to measure brain tissue oxygen tension (PO2). The volume of ischemic brain damage was 162.4 ± 7.6 mm3 in controls, 165.3 ± 11.3 mm3 in the 30-PFC group, 153.4 ± 17.3 mm3 in the 100-O2 group, and 95.9 ± 12.8 mm3 in the 100-PFC group (41% reduction compared with controls, p = 0.002). Baseline brain tissue PO2 values were approximately 20 mm Hg, and after induction of acute SDH, PO2 rapidly decreased and remained at 1 to 2 mm Hg. Treatment with either PFC or 100% O2 improved brain tissue PO2, with final values of 5.14 and 7.02 mm Hg, respectively. Infusion of PFC with 100% O2 improved brain tissue PO2 the most, with a final value of 15.16 mm Hg. Conclusions. Data from the current study demonstrated that PFC infusion along with 100% O2 can significantly improve brain oxygenation and reduce ischemic brain damage in acute SDH.


1988 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 736-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suguru Inao ◽  
Anthony Marmarou ◽  
Geoff D. Clarke ◽  
Bruce J. Andersen ◽  
Panos P. Fatouros ◽  
...  

✓ Lactate dynamics in the brain, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and serum were studied in 20 chloralose-anesthetized cats following fluid-percussion trauma. Brain lactate and brain tissue pH were measured by hydrogen-1 and phophorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The CSF, arterial, and cerebrovenous serum lactate levels as well as serum glucose concentration were quantified. In the six sham-operated control animals, brain, CSF, cerebrovenous, and arterial lactate levels as well as brain pH remained at normal values. In the five animals in the mild-trauma group (1.6 atm), brain and CSF lactate levels were moderately elevated, although the brain pH and serum lactate content remained at control values. Severe trauma (3.1 atm) in nine cats produced an 82% increase in the brain lactate index and a reduction in brain tissue pH (7.02 ± 0.02 to 6.95 ± 0.02; mean ± standard error of the mean), indicating brain tissue acidosis caused by excessive lactate accumulation. Brain lactate levels reached a peak 1½ hours after severe trauma, then steadily decreased to normal levels by 8 hours posttrauma. Maximum increases of CSF and arterial lactate levels (from 1.4 ± 0.2 to 4.1 ± 0.4 and from 1.6 ± 0.2 to 4.1 to 0.6 mmol/liter, respectively) were observed 15 minutes after trauma, and the values decreased during the next 2 hours. The response was biphasic, with a secondary rise observed in both CSF and serum lactate levels during the remaining 4 hours of the experiment. The difference between the arterial and venous lactate levels (A-Vlact) gradually increased and reached a peak 2 hours postinjury (from −0.05 ± 0.10 to −0.41 ± 0.09 mmol/liter). The results of this study show that the production of lactate in brain tissue, CSF, and blood increased in proportion to the severity of the injury. The observation that lactate levels in blood and CSF are maximum immediately following impact while brain lactate and A-Vlact are gradually increasing suggests that the brain-tissue production of lactate fails to account for the rapid appearance of lactate in CSF and blood. It is speculated that the initial elevation of CSF lactate values reflects the systemic response of trauma, and the secondary rise of CSF lactate levels following severe trauma is due to slow seepage of lactate produced by brain tissue into the CSF space. These studies are the first to describe the temporal profile of brain lactate production and eventual clearance by CSF and blood in fluid-percussion injury. The results emphasize the need for caution in interpreting elevated CSF lactate levels following head injury.


1991 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuo Yoshida ◽  
Anthony Marmarou

✓ The metabolic brain acidosis after trauma has been thought to be harmful and to contribute to neurological deterioration. Amelioration of the brain acidosis either by systemic buffering agents or by hyperventilation has been proposed as a method of treatment. The objective of this study was to explore with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy the metabolic changes in brain that occur with the use of hyperventilation, THAM (tromethamine; tris[hydroxymethyl]aminomethane), and a combination (THAM and hyperventilation) therapy in experimental fluid-percussion injury. Brain lactate, brain pH, inorganic phosphate (Pi), and adenosine triphosphate levels were measured by 1H and 31P MR spectroscopy. Arterial and cerebrovenous lactate and water content in brain tissue was determined in 29 cats using the specific gravimetric technique. Following injury, the phosphocreatine (PCr)/Pi ratio, which is an index of cerebral energy depletion, decreased to 76% in four untreated animals, to 79% in 11 THAM-treated animals, to 68% in seven animals receiving hyperventilation, and to 66% in seven animals with combination THAM and hyperventilation therapy. The PCr/Pi ratio returned to a normal level in 8 hours in animals treated with THAM and THAM in combination with hyperventilation. The brain lactate index increased to 157% in the hyperventilation group after trauma. In cats receiving THAM plus hyperventilation, the brain lactate index was reduced to 142%, while the minimum rise of 126% was associated with treatment of THAM alone. In the THAM-treatment and combination-treatment groups, the water content of the white and gray matter was significantly decreased compared with that in untreated cat brains. Prolonged hyperventilation provided relative ischemia in brain tissue and promoted more production of brain lactate, no recovery of the PCr/Pi ratio, and no decrease in brain edema. On the other hand, administration of THAM decreased production of brain lactate and brain edema and promoted the recovery of cerebral energy dysfunction. It was found that THAM ameliorates the deleterious effects of hyperventilation by minimizing energy disturbance and that it also decreases brain edema. The authors conclude that THAM may be effective in reducing brain tissue acidosis and helpful as a metabolic stabilizing agent following severe head injury.


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