Refractory traumatic intracranial hypertension: the role of decompressive craniectomy.

Traumatic brain injury according to the World Health Organization estimates that by 2020 will be the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Intracranial hypertension refractory to medical management is the cause of increased mortality in neurotrauma. There are various measures to control intracranial hypertension, including surgical.

Intradiploic Pterional Epidermoid Tumor: A Case Report and Review of literature.

Intradiploic epidermoid cyst is an uncommonly occurring neoplasm, and only about 200 cases are reported in the form of isolated case report. It is presumed to occur due to ectodermal cells in inclusion in the bone tissue during embryonic life neural tube closure. It commonly remains asymptomatic or rarely presents as a bony lump in the skull bone.

[Type I Chiari malformation associated with cerebellar atrophy. Case report].

Chiari malformation is characterized by caudal displacement of the cerebellar tonsils that penetrate into the spinal canal through the foramen magnum, achieving reach the atlas or axis. trunk and any drop of the fourth ventricle is observed. Typically is seen in young adults.

Post-Traumatic Balint's Syndrome: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Balint’s syndrome is a rare neurological disorder associated with bilateral parieto-occipital damage which was described by Rezsö Bálint in 1909.The syndrome is manifested clinically by the presence of a hemispatial negligence. The lesion is usually inside parietooccipital region bilaterally in most cases but may also be compromised angular convolutions, the dorsolateral area of the occipital lobe as the superior parietal lobule.

Management of Craniocerebral Gunshot Injuries: A Review.

Craniocerebral gunshot injuries (CGI) are increasingly encountered by neurosurgeons in civilian and urban settings. Unfortunately this is a prevalent condition in developing countries, with major armed conflicts which is not very likely to achieve a high rate of prevention. Management goals should focus on early aggressive, vigorous resuscitation and correction of coagulopathy; those with stable vital signs undergo brain computed tomography scan.

Symptomatic Chiari Malformation with Syringomyelia after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Case Report.

Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I) is a congenital disorder, which is basically a tonsillar herniation (≥ 5 mm) below the foramen magnum with or without syringomyelia. The real cause behind this malformation is still unknown. Patients may remain asymptomatic until they engender a deteriorating situation, such as cervical trauma.

Severe Cranioencephalic Trauma: Prehospital Care, Surgical Management and Multimodal Monitoring.

Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death in developed countries. It is estimated that only in the United States about 100,000 people die annually in parallel among the survivors there is a significant number of people with disabilities with significant costs for the health system. It has been determined that after moderate and severe traumatic injury, brain parenchyma is affected by more than 55% of cases.

Seizure frequency reduction after posteromedial hypothalamus deep brain stimulation in drug-resistant epilepsy associated with intractable aggressive behavior.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the posteromedial hypothalamus (pHyp) on seizure frequency in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) associated with intractable aggressive behavior (IAB).

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from nine patients, who received bilateral stereotactic pHyp-DBS for the treatment of medically intractable aggressive behavior, focusing on five patients who also had DRE. All patients were treated at the Colombian Center and Foundation of Epilepsy and Neurological Diseases-FIRE (Chapter of the International Bureau for Epilepsy), in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia from 2010 to 2014.

Dystrophic thoracic spine dislocation associated with type-1 neurofibromatosis: Case report and rationale for treatment.

The authors report a rare case of spontaneous dystrophic thoracic spine dislocation in a 14-year-old boy with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). Anteroposterior and lateral standing radiographs showed a dysplastic kyphoscoliotic deformity, with the thoracic kyphosis and scoliosis measuring 75° and 69°, respectively. Three-dimensional reconstruction after computed tomography demonstrated spondyloptosis at T5-T6 with overlapping of T5 over T6 and T7.

[Pediatric Gliosarcoma: Case Report and Literature Review].

Brain gliosarcoma is a rare variant of glioblastoma multiforme that occurs primarily between the sixth and seventh decades of life. Few cases have been reported in patients younger than nineteen years. We report a four-year-old male with clinical, imaging and pathology compatible with brain gliosarcoma.

[Influence of armed conflict on mortality due to traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents].

Background: In the presence an armed conflagration, the mortality behavior of a country is expected to be affected. The aim of this investigation was to assess, in a country with internal warfare, the trend of mortality associated with traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents, which even under social peace conditions, is one of the most common causes of death and disability in this population groups.

Methods: A retrospective, population-based study was conducted, where the trend of mortality due to traumatic brain injury during the 1999 to 2008 period was assessed.

Sacroiliac screw fixation: A mini review of surgical technique.

The sacral percutaneous fixation has many advantages but can be associated with a significant exposure to X-ray radiation. Currently, sacroiliac screw fixation represents the only minimally invasive technique to stabilize the posterior pelvic ring. It is a technique that should be used by experienced surgeons.

Efficacy and safety of subdural drains after burr-hole evacuation of chronic subdural hematomas: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: To determine whether the use of a subdural drain after burr-hole evacuation of a chronic subdural hematoma is safe and effective in preventing recurrence and subsequent operations, and as such improving functional outcomes.

Methods: The literature search included the following databases: PubMed, the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine, Clinical Trials Registry, CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library), EMBASE, and LILACS. The search was performed in June 2013, and did not have restrictions or filters with regard to language or year of publication.

[Endovascular management of skull base tumors. A practical review on literature].

Generally speaking, skull base tumors are very difficult-to-reach lesions. More or less, two thirds of those tumors correspond to meningiomas, which are highly vascular tumors. Tumors that are able to an embolization are juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas, hemangiopericytomas, hemangioblastomas, meningiomas, metastatic lesions, paragangliomas, glomus tumors and other paragangliomas.

[Multimodal monitoring in severe craniocerebral trauma: state the art].

Traumatic brain injury is a public health problem and leading cause of death. In the context of a severe head injury, monitoring strategies give us the option to analyze the posterior intracranial alterations to the primary lesion. Neuromonitoring allows us to identify the deterioration of neurological function and the presence of secondary brain injury that may benefit from a therapeutic intervention letting us know pathophysiological changes that occur in a patient with brain injury.

Global, regional, and national incidence and mortality for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria during 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

Background: The Millennium Declaration in 2000 brought special global attention to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria through the formulation of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6. The Global Burden of Disease 2013 study provides a consistent and comprehensive approach to disease estimation for between 1990 and 2013, and an opportunity to assess whether accelerated progress has occured since the Millennium Declaration.

Methods: To estimate incidence and mortality for HIV, we used the UNAIDS Spectrum model appropriately modified based on a systematic review of available studies of mortality with and without antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Orthosis for thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurologic deficit: A systematic review of prospective randomized controlled trials.

Background: Traditionally, conservative treatment of thoracolumbar (TL) burst fractures without neurologic deficit has encompassed the application of an extension brace. However, their effectiveness on maintaining the alignment, preventing posttraumatic deformities, and improving back pain, disability and quality of life is doubtful.

Objective: The objective was to identify and summarize the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine whether bracing patients who suffer TL fractures adds benefices to the conservative manage without bracing.

Bilateral Traumatic Basal Ganglia Hemorrhage Associated With Epidural Hematoma: Case Report and Literature Review.

Traumatic basal ganglia hematoma is a rare condition defined as presence of hemorrhagic lesions in basal ganglia or adjacent structures suchas internal capsule, putamen and thalamus. Bilateral basal ganglia hematoma are among the devastating and rare condition. We herein report a 28-year old man, a victim of car-car accident who was brought to our surgical emergency room by immediate loss of consciousness and was diagnosed to have hyperdense lesion in the basal ganglia bilaterally, with the presence of right parietal epidural hematoma.

Traumatic brain injury due to bull assault in a girl: a case report.

Traumatic brain injury is a common condition in the emergency services, affecting the pediatric and adult population significantly. Patterns of head injury as well as management principles in children are important differences compared to adults. Traumatic brain injury by bull rush is usually seen in adults but has not been described in children-report a pediatric cranial trauma present bull rush, which to our knowledge is the first report in the literature of this nature.

[Application of vancomycin powder into the wound during spine surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis].

Objective: To determine the effects of applying vancomycin powder within the surgical wound on the risk of surgical infections, pseudo-arthrosis and adverse events, in patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Material And Methods: A meta-analysis was carried out, including controlled studies that evaluated the risk of postoperative infections and/or pseudo-arthrosis in patients undergoing spinal surgery in which vancomycin powder was applied within the surgical wound.

Results: were presented as pooled relative risks, with its 95% confidence intervals.

Effects of Glycemic Level on Outcome of Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To determine the effects of glycemic level on outcome patients with traumatic brain injury.

Methods:  From September 2010 to December 2012, all medical records of adult patients with TBI admitted to the Emergency Room of Laura Daniela Clinic in Valledupar City, Colombia, South America were enrolled. Both genders between 18 and 85 years who referred during the first 48 hours after trauma, and their glucose level was determined in the first 24 hours of admission were included.

[Postoperative bed header position after burr-hole drainage of chronic subdural haematoma: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials].

Introduction: Several studies have suggested the possible influence of postoperative bed header position on the risk of symptomatic recurrences and medical complications in patients who have been intervened due chronic subdural haematomas. Nevertheless, this hypothesis has not been assessed by a meta-analysis.

Methods: All randomised controlled trials analysing symptomatic recurrence rates in patients who underwent burr-hole drainage of chronic subdural haematomas, describing postoperative bed header positioning, were included.

External lumbar cerebrospinal fluid drainage in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials.

Introduction: External lumbar drainage is a promising measure for the prevention of delayed aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage-related ischemic complications.

Methods: Controlled studies evaluating the effects of external lumbar drainage in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were included. Primary outcomes were: new cerebral infarctions and severe disability.

Trends in the mortality of non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in Colombia: a 10-year analysis of a nationwide registry.

Objective: To assess trends in mortality from 1999 to 2008 resulting from non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in the Colombian population.

Method: This population-based study analyzed all deaths by assuming a Poisson model.

Results: Subarachnoid hemorrhage-related deaths showed a statistically significant increase of 1.