Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Cranioplasty for the surgical correction of cranial defects is often performed using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or bone cement. Immediately prior to PMMA application, a liquid monomer form (methylacrylate) and a benzoyl peroxide accelerator are mixed resulting in polymerization, an exothermic reaction during which monomer linking and subsequent formation of solid polymer occur. ⋯ We hypothesize that these complications most likely occurred due to thermal damage and/or chemical toxicity from exposure to PMMA during cranioplasty. Our case series indicates that even small volumes of PMMA used for cranioplasty may cause severe side effects related to thermal damage or to exposure of neural tissue to methylacrylate monomer.
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Ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt malfunction due to proximal and distal catheter migration has been rarely reported in the literature. Shunt migration has been proposed to occur as a result of a combination of various mechanisms, including the windlass effect, retained memory of the shunt tubing, inadequate shunt fixation, and increased intra-abdominal pressures. We describe a rare case of a 6-week-old child who presented in our department with VP shunt malfunction due to complete proximal migration and coiling of the peritoneal and ventricular VP shunt catheters within a subgaleal pocket at the left occipital area.
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Lactate, a by-product of glycolysis, is an indicator of poor tissue perfusion and is a useful biomarker with prognostic value in risk-stratifying patients in several diseases. Furthermore, elevated lactate production is observed in tumour glycolysis, also known as the Warburg effect, and is essential in promoting tumour cell invasion, metastasis, and immune system evasion, promoting resistance to cell death. ⋯ We provide initial evidence that a rise in serum lactate can be used as a non-invasive biomarker that correlates with brain tumour grade. The results from this study and future prospective studies may allow for determination of tumour progression and response to therapy using serum lactate as a biomarker.
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Intracranial ependymomas are rare tumors in adults. Thus, factors affecting prognosis are poorly understood. We performed a study to investigate whether tumor location is an important prognostic factor in adults who undergo surgery for intracranial ependymomas. ⋯ Extraventricular ependymomas displayed significantly poorer PFS than intraventricular ependymomas (p=0.009). In summary, supratentorial ependymomas have significantly poorer PFS and OS than their infratentorial counterparts, despite being more conducive to GTR, suggesting increased clinical aggressiveness. Extraventricular location is also associated with significantly poorer PFS than intraventricular location.
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Acute trauma patients represent a specific subgroup of the critically ill population due to sudden and dramatic changes in homeostasis and consequently extreme demands on the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Salivary cortisol is an accepted surrogate for serum free cortisol in the assessment of HPA axis function. The purpose of this study was (1) to establish the feasibility of salivary cortisol measurement in acute trauma patients in the neurosurgical-surgical intensive care unit (NSICU), and (2) to determine the diurnal pattern of salivary cortisol in the acute phase after injury. ⋯ When comparing mean AM and PM salivary cortisol by GCS severity category (GCS ⩽8 and GCS >8) the AM salivary cortisol was significantly higher in patients with GCS ⩽8 (p=0.002). The results show a loss of diurnal cortisol variation in acute trauma patient in the NSICU during the first week of hospitalization. Patients with severe brain injury had higher morning cortisol levels than those with mild/moderate brain injury.