Cerebral herniation as a complication of chest tube drainage of cerebrospinal fluid after injury to the spine
Document Type
Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Patients with concomitant injuries to the thorax and thecal sac requiring chest tube drainage are at risk for cerebral herniation caused by overdrainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). CASE DESCRIPTION: A 40-year-old man presented to the trauma service awake, alert, and oriented with an isolated gunshot wound to the midaxillary line through the tenth intercostal space and a complete spinal cord injury at T12. The patient was stabilized and intubated. A chest tube was placed, and he was transferred to the neurologic intensive care unit. The patient was found to be comatose with complete absence of brainstem reflexes 3 hours after admission. RESULTS: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and autopsy revealed diffuse cerebral edema, occlusion of the bilateral posterior cerebral arteries, and tonsillar herniation extending several centimeters below the foramen magnum, with petechial hemorrhages and absence of gliosis. CONCLUSIONS: To the authors' knowledge, this case represents the first report of cerebral herniation secondary to chest tube drainage of a CSF leak caused by traumatic injury to the thecal sac.
Medical Subject Headings
Adult; Brain Death (pathology); Cerebral Arteries (pathology); Cerebral Ventricles (pathology); Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak; Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea (complications, pathology); Chest Tubes (adverse effects); Edema (pathology); Encephalocele (pathology); Fatal Outcome; Foramen Magnum (pathology); Hemothorax (pathology, surgery); Humans; Intracranial Thrombosis (pathology); Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Postoperative Complications (pathology); Spinal Cord (pathology); Spinal Cord Injuries (pathology, surgery); Suction (adverse effects); Thoracic Injuries (pathology, surgery); Thoracic Vertebrae (injuries, pathology); Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency (pathology); Wounds, Gunshot (pathology, surgery)
Publication Date
1-1-2013
Publication Title
World neurosurgery
E-ISSN
1878-8769
Volume
79
Issue
5-6
First Page
798.E17
Last Page
9
PubMed ID
22120389
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1016/j.wneu.2011.04.028
Recommended Citation
Kalani, M Yashar; Filippidis, Aristotelis; Martirosyan, Nikolay L.; and Theodore, Nicholas, "Cerebral herniation as a complication of chest tube drainage of cerebrospinal fluid after injury to the spine" (2013). Neurosurgery. 1671.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurosurgery/1671