Mortality and adverse neurologic sequelae from HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis (HIV-CM) remains high due to raised intracranial pressure (ICP) complications. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) high opening pressure occurs in more than 50% of HIV-CM patients. Repeated lumbar puncture with CSF drainage and external lumbar drainage might be required in the management of these patients. Usually, ther...

Blindness is a rare, devastating, usually permanent complication of cryptococcal meningitis (CM). We present the first case of complete vision loss in a solid organ transplant recipient with CM treated with placement of a lumbar drain who had a dramatic visual recovery that started after 3 doses of high-dose steroids.

OBJECT Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) continues to be a major source of morbidity in patients despite significant clinical and basic science research. Efforts to prevent vasospasm by removing spasmogens from the subarachnoid space have produced mixed results. The authors hypothesize that lumbar cisternal drainage can remove blood from the basal subarachnoid spaces more e...

A patient who underwent lumbar spine surgery sustained an occult dural injury. After unrecognized suction drainage of cerebrospinal fluid through a surgical drain, caudal herniation of the cerebellum with superior cerebellar infarction developed. This mechanism should be considered in patients in whom acute mental status changes develop after spinal surgery.

Lumbar drain insertion is an integral aspect of perioperative care for patients undergoing thoracoabodminal aortic aneurysm (TAA) repair. It has been shown to reduce incidence of paraplegia when both open and endovascular technique is used. Controversy exists in terms of optimal management of these catheters. This commentary will present current guidelines as well as experienced recommendations...

BACKGROUND Developing controlled hypercarbia is a known scheme of lowering the suprasellar part of the adenoma in order to assist the surgeon, which acts through raising the ICP and therefore the CSF pressure. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of introducing a lumbar drain with that of controlled hypercapnia on the quality of transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resecti...

Study Design Systematic review. Objective Determine whether closed suction wound drains decrease the incidence of postoperative complications compared with no drain use in patients undergoing spine surgery for lumbar degenerative conditions. Methods Electronic databases and reference lists of key articles were searched up through January 22, 2015, to identify studies comparing the use of closed...

OBJECT Neurological deterioration due to spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) is a rare but significant complication of spinal surgery. The frequency of hematoma evacuation after spinal surgery is reportedly 0.1%-3%. The objective of this study was to investigate the symptomatology of SEH and the frequency of evacuation for each surgical procedure after spinal decompression surgery. METHODS This is...