• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제57권5호
• /
• pp.376-378
• /
• 2015

Cervical epidural steroid injection is indicated for radicular symptoms with or without axial neck pain. Complications are rare but can be serious. Here, we report the case of a 54-year-old man with cervical radicular pain who was treated with cervical epidural steroid injection. Injection was administered twice under fluoroscopic guidance with the loss-of-resistance technique using air to confirm the epidural space. After the second procedure, the patient complained of severe persistent headache and was diagnosed with pneumocephalus on brain computed tomography. The patient returned home without any neurological complication, after a few days of conservative treatment. Though, a fluoroscopic guidance cervical epidural injection is also known to diminish the risk of complications. Physicians should always keep in mind that it does not guarantee safety, particularly in the cervical region, related to its anatomical considerations.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제49권3호
• /
• pp.175-177
• /
• 2011

Subdural empyema is a rare form of intracranial sepsis associated with high morbidity and mortality. The most frequent cause is extension of paranasal sinusitis through emissary veins or of mastoiditis through the mucosa, bone, and dura mater. Development of subdural empyema after pyogenic meningitis is known to be very unusual in adults. We report a rare case of fatal subdural empyema, an unusual complication of pyogenic meningitis. Our bitter experience suggests that subdural empyema should be borne in mind in patient with pyogenic meningitis who exhibit neurological deterioration.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• 제20권1호
• /
• pp.71-74
• /
• 2016

Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neurological disorder resulting from thiamine deficiency. Early diagnosis and treatment of WE is important to avoid persistent brain damage. Although histopathologic examination usually demonstrates pin-point hemorrhages in affected brain parenchyma, secondary hemorrhage is a rare but serious complication of WE. We experienced a rare case of intracranial hemorrhage related to WE in a 56-year-old male patient with malnourishment.

• 대한기관식도과학회지
• /
• 제13권1호
• /
• pp.29-32
• /
• 2007

Background and Objectives: Improvements in the fields of neonatology and surgical subspecialities make tracheotomy possible to the younger population. But complication rates for infantile tracheotomy are significantly higher than that for the other pediatric tracheotomy. This study was designed to present our 9-year experiences of infantile tracheotomy and to evaluate the effect of several factors of complications. Materials and Methods: From 1996 through 2004, 60 tracheotomies were performed. Charts were reviewed with respect to indications for tracheotomy, underlying diseases, success rate in decannulation and length of support time until decannulation, complication and mortality rate. Results: There were 41 male patients and 19 female patients. Ventilatory support for neurological impairment(38.3%) was the leading indication for tracheotomy, followed by subglottic stenosis(36.7%), laryngomalacia(13.3%). Decannulation was accomplished in 60.0% of infants with an average of 56.5momths with tracheotomy. Complications occurred in 43.3%. There was one tracheotomy-related mortality in case of tracheal atresia. Most common complication was subglottic stenosis. Conclusion: Infantile tracheotomy had significant morbidities and its outcomes are thought to be usually related to the underlying disease and age. To prevent complication, early decannulation is advisable, and for long-term tracheotomy patients, regulation of reflux and infection may be necessary.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제55권1호
• /
• pp.1-4
• /
• 2014

Objective : The case fatality rate of nonlesional intracerebral hemorrhage (n-ICH) was high and not changed. Knowing the causes is important to their prevention; however, the reasons have not been studied. The aims of this study were to determine the cause of death, to improve the clinical outcomes. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed consecutive cases of nonlesional intracerebral hemorrhage in a prospective stroke registry from January 2010 to December 2010. Results : Among 174 patients ($61.83{\pm}13.36$, 28-90 years), 29 patients (16.7%) died during hospitalization. Most common cause of death was initial neurological damage (41.4%, 12/29). Seventeen patients who survived the initial damage may then develop various potentially fatal complications. Except for death due to the initial neurological sequelae, death associated with immobilization (such as pneumonia or thromboembolic complication) was the most common in eight cases (8/17, 47.1%). However, death due to early rebleeding was not common and occurred in only 2 cases (2/17, 11.8%). Age, initial Glasgow Coma Scale, and diabetes mellitus were statistically significant factors influencing mortality (p<0.05). Conclusion : Mortality of n-ICH is still high. Initial neurological damage is the most important factor; however, non-neurological medical complications are a large part of case fatality. Most cases of death of patients who survived from the first bleeding were due to complications of immobilization. These findings have implications for clinical practice and planning of clinical trials. In addition, future conduct of a randomized study will be necessary in order to evaluate the benefits of early mobilization for prevention of immobilization related complications.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제46권3호
• /
• pp.221-225
• /
• 2009

Objective : Surgical treatment of posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysms is challenging due to limited surgical accessibility. Endovascular approach has a benefit of avoiding direct injury to the brainstem or lower cranial nerves. Therefore, it has recently been considered an alternative or primary modality for PICA aneurysms. We retrospectively assessed outcomes following detachable coil embolization of saccular PICA aneurysms. Methods : From February 1997 to December 2007, we performed endovascular procedures to treat 15 patients with 15 PICA aneurysms. Fourteen patients with 14 PICA aneurysms morphology of which was saccular were reviewed retrospectively. Twelve patients had ruptured aneurysms. The aneurysms arose from the PICA origin site (n=12), the PICA lateral medullary segment (n=1), or the PICA tonsilomedullary segment (n=1). Results : Complete aneurysm occlusion was achieved in 10 patients, residual neck in 3, and residual sac in one. Radiological follow-up was performed in 7 patients with mean duration of 34.7 months (range, 1-97 months) and showed stable or complete occlusion in 6 patients. There were no rebleeding or retreatment after endovascular treatment. Thromboembolism was the only procedure-related complication (n=4 ; 28.6%). Asymptomatic PICA infarction occurred in two patients and symptomatic PICA infarction in two elderly patients with poor clinical grade. Of these procedural PICA infarction cases, 1 symptomatic PICA infarction patient developed ventriculitis and septic shock leading to death. The clinical outcome was good in 10 patients (71.4%). Conclusions : In the present study, detachable coil embolization has shown as an efficient modality for PICA saccular aneurysms challenging indications of microsurgery. However, thromboembolic complications should be considered, especially in poor clinical elderly patients with ruptured aneurysms.

• 대한한방내과학회지
• /
• 제22권4호
• /
• pp.633-638
• /
• 2001

Objective : Stroke is the most frequent cause of death in Korea. Because it remains severe disablities disturbing normal life, it is important to carry out intervention preventing from progression of condition in patients with acute ischemic stroke within therapeutic time window. Thus early thrombolysis is beneficial for patients with acute ischemic stroke. However its therapeutic efficacy is not known in combination with oriental medical therapy. In this study, we investigated the safety and the clinical effect of continous intravenous urokinase therapy and oriental medical therapy. Methods : Twenty eight patients with acute onset of ischemic stroke no later than three days received continous infusion of urokinase and oriental medical therapy. We estimated the subjects's neurological deficit and functional status with National institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke Scale(NIHSS) and Europian Stroke Scale (ESS) prior to therapy, on day 3, 7, 14 after the starting urokinase therapy and on day at discharge. Results: After day 7, the scores of NIHSS and ESS were improved significantly. There are no differences in therapeutic effects of the interval between onset of stroke and initiation of therapy. Complication were noted in four(14%) patients, but these are not fatal complication and make no neurological deficiency. Conclusion : The results of these investment suggest that continuous intravenous urokinase with oriental medical therapy could be a safe and effective intervention to prevent from progression in acute ischemic stroke. But this findings should be confirmed in multicenter double blind controlled trial.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제29권8호
• /
• pp.1001-1007
• /
• 2000

Objective : We analysed diverse clinical features of the cavernous angioma. Also, we report the experience in differ-ent methods of the management and their results. Method : Data from 80 patients who were confirmed pathologically or diagnosed radiologically between Jan. 1990 and Sept. 1998 at our hospital were analysed. Variable factors that were examined were : clinical features, effects of treatment, and complications. Results : There were 47 male and 33 female patients. The age at the first presentation was from 3 to 57(mean 34.1) years old. Clinical features were seizure in 28 cases(38%), bleeding in 24 cases(32%), neurologic deficits in 12 cases(16%), headache in 10 cases(14%), and six incidental cases. The locations of lesion were cerebral and cerebellar hemisphere in 45 cases(56.2%), brainstem, basal ganglia, and thalamus in 32 cases(40%), multiple in 3 cases (3.8%). Seizure was common at the third decade and occurred frequently with the cavernous angioma in temporal (43%) or frontal lobe(39%). Bleeding was frequent after the third decade with peak at the fourth decade and had high incidence in brainstem or thalamus. The gamma-knife radiosurgery was done in 47 cases. Rebleeding occurred in 3 cases, but it was within postradiosurgery 1 year. Symptomatic radiation change occurred in 2 cases of 8 radiation change on MRI. On follow-up MRI, no evidence of rebleeding was found in 30 cases. Also, The lesion size was decreased in 3 cases. Resection was performed in 23 cases ; total 20, subtotal 2, partial 1. Postoperative complication occurred in 6 cases(26.1%). After surgery, 7(63.6%) of 11 seizure patients had outcome of seizure-free. Subclinical rebleeding occurred in one of two subtotal resected cases. In 11 patients, conservative management was done. There was neither rebleeding nor symptom aggravation during follow-up period of mean 17.2 months. Conclusion : The solution for prevention of rebleeding is complete removal of the lesion located at noneloquent area or accessible region, especially for the patients who presented symptoms or intractable seizure. However, the Gamma knife radiosurgery is considered when the lesions are located at eloquent area or when severe postoperative morbidity is expected.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제29권9호
• /
• pp.1228-1232
• /
• 2000

목 적 : 본 연구는 삼차신경통에 대한 감마나이프 방사선 수술을 한 경우에 있어서 그 장기추적 결과를 분석하고자 하였다. 방 법 : 총 증례수는 11례였고 신경근 입구부(nerve root entry zone)에 수술의 목표점으로 최대량 67~85Gy를 조사하였다. 4mm collimator를 사용하였고 목표점은 뇌교의 표면으로부터 1~6mm 원위부 신경근에 위치하였다. 초기 3례에 있어서는 신경근과 뇌교가 만나는 접합부를 방사선수술의 목표점으로 삼았다. 이들 증례에서는 뇌교에 56 혹은 60Gy가 조사되었다. 후반 8례에서는 목표점을 다소 신경근의 원위부로 이동하여 뇌교의 가장자리가 최대량의 20% 이하로 조사되도록 계획하였다. 결 과 : 평균추적 기간은 25개월(13~50개월)이었다. 통증감소의 시작시점은 수술후 일주일내에서부터 길게는 5개월째였다. 통증의 치료결과는 삼례에서 완전소실, 3례에서 현격히 감소(80~90%)하였고 4례에서는 의미있게 감소하였다. 단 한례에서 최종추적결과 수술전과 같은 정도의 통증재발이 있었다. 전례에서 감마나이프 방사선수술과 관련된 의미있는 정도의 부작용은 관찰되지않았다. 결 론 : 장기추적 결과 감마나이프 방사선 수술이 삼차신경통의 치료에 효과적임이 관찰되었고 향후 이 질환에 대한 일차적 치료법으로 정하기 위하여 좀더 많은 치료경험이 필요할 것으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제58권2호
• /
• pp.159-162
• /
• 2015

Neurological deficits after brain surgery are not uncommon, and correct and prompt differential diagnosis is essential to initiate appropriate treatment. We describe a patient suffering from loss of consciousness due to hyperammonemia, following valproic acid treatment after surgery for an unruptured cerebral aneurysm. A 57-year-old female patient underwent successful aneurysmal neck clipping to correct an unruptured aneurysm. Her postoperative course was good, and she received anti-epileptic therapy (valproic acid) and a soft diet. Within a few days the patient experienced mental deterioration. Her serum valproic acid reached toxic levels (149.40 mg/L), and serum ammonia was fifteen times the upper normal limit (553 mmol/L; normal range, 9-33 mmol/L). After discontinuation of valproic acid and with conservative treatment, the patient recovered without any complications. Valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy is an unusual but serious neurosurgical complication, and should not be disregarded as a possible cause of neurological deficits after neurovascular surgery. Early diagnosis is crucial, as discontinuation of valproic acid therapy can prevent serious complications, including death.