Acute increase of intracranial pressure (ICP) usually has to be treated with an external ventricular drainage (EVD). Current standard mechanical EVD carry a lot of disadvantages, which hypothetically could be better managed by a newly developed electromechanical EVD. In this report our first preliminary results of such an electromechanical EVD applied in a porcine animal model are presented. Th...

AIM To determine the volume of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that should be tapped in preterm infants with posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation as guided by intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV). METHODS The total number of measurements was 106 in 22 infants. Birth weights ranged from 630 to 2050 g, gestational age from 24.5 to 30.3 weeks, and age at insertion fro...

BACKGROUND Infants with isolated totally anomalous pulmonary venous return often present severely decompensated, such that they are at high risk for surgical repair. On the other hand, if surgical repair can be safely accomplished, the outlook is usually good. Thus prenatal diagnosis would be expected to improve the prognosis for the affected child. OBJECTIVE To describe the features of isola...

OBJECTIVE To identify easily applicable guidelines for the surgical and conservative management of spontaneous cerebellar hematomas. METHODS A treatment protocol was developed and prospectively applied for the management of 50 consecutive cases of cerebellar hematomas. The appearance of the fourth ventricle, adjacent to the hematoma, on computed tomographic scans was divided into three grades...

We describe the case of a 77-year-old female who underwent dual-chamber permanent pacemaker implantation using two active screw-in leads for complete atrioventricular block. The two active screw-in leads perforated the atrial and ventricular walls causing cardiac tamponade and a left hemothorax associated with ventricular perforation. An emergency sternotomy was performed to facilitate drainage...

We extend our recently published windkessel-wave interpretation of vascular function to the wave intensity analysis (WIA) of left ventricular (LV) filling dynamics by separating the pressure changes due to the windkessel from those due to traveling waves. With the use of LV compliance, the change in pressure due solely to LV volume changes (windkessel pressure) can be isolated. Inasmuch as the ...

To cite: Vallabhajosyula S, Sundaragiri PR. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2014209187 DESCRIPTION A 33-year-old Caucasian woman with Class 1 idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) managed on tadalafil, ambrisentan, treprostinil, digoxin and diuretics presented with progressive dyspnoea and orthopnoea since 2 weeks. Cardiac examination re...

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...

We report two patients with massive intratumoral hemorrhage in pineal tumors. A 23-year-old male with pineocytoma, whose (MRI, CT) image demonstrated obstructive hydrocephalus, was subjected to a right ventriculoperitoneal shunt. His consciousness deteriorated, and he experienced massive intratumoral hemorrhage and later died. Another case of pineal tumor was a 47-year-old male who underwent em...