Can Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio Predict Early Outcome in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury?

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury is a frequent debilitating neurologic condition with increasing prevalence and related morbidity over the last decades. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is a promising biomarker for determining different medical conditions' disease course and outcome such as traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study aimed to investigate the predictive value of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the outcome of SCI. METHOD: In a retrospective cross-sectional study from April 2019 to April 2022, all patients 18 to 65 years old, following spinal cord injury who were referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital and met inclusion and exclusion criteria enrolled in the study. A checklist including demographic data, lab, and clinical findings at admission, 24h, 48 h, and discharge were recorded. IBM SPSS Statistics software was used to analyze the data. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Six hundred patients met our inclusion criteria and enrolled in the study. The mean age of the patients was 40.93 ± 12.77, with 75% male and 25% female. There was a significant correlation between the N/L ratio at different time points (p.value=0.001), injury type, and ASIA score at admission and discharge (0.001). Furthermore, the NLR had approached significant value alone to predict outcomes in patients enrolled in the study (0.06). CONCLUSIONS: A high NLR is unequivocally linked with poor outcomes in patients suffering from acute SCI and should be considered a negative prognostic factor; however, the NLR had approached significant predicting value in patients enrolled in the study.

Correlation Between Clinical Findings at Admission and Glasgow Outcome Scale Score in Children with Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury has different pathophysiology and outcomes in children and adults. This study investigated the relationship between clinical and laboratory findings at admission and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score in children with traumatic brain injury. METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional single-center study enrolled 444 children 1-16 years old admitted to the neurosurgery ward from 2016 to 2020. Clinical data and laboratory information were extracted from the records of these patients at admission, and the relationship with GOS score at discharge was investigated. RESULTS: The 444 patients include 249 (56.08%) boys and 195 (43.92%) girls with a mean age of 7.32 ± 4.4 years. There was no correlation between GOS score and sex (P = 0.12), age (P = 0.16), serum potassium level (P = 0.08), platelet level (P = 0.21), and blood glucose (P = 0.18). There was a significant relationship between GOS score and hypotension (P = 0.03), hyponatremia (P = 0.04), prothrombin time (P = 0.03), partial thromboplastin time (P = 0.03), pupil size (P = 0.02), pupil reaction to light (P = 0.04), and Glasgow Coma Scale score (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and laboratory findings such as hypotension, hyponatremia, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, pupil size, pupil reaction to light, and Glasgow Coma Scale score at admission could affect GOS score at discharge and result in poor outcomes in children with traumatic brain injury.

Ligamentum Flavum Hematoma Presented with Low Back Pain: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

A 61-year-old woman with no past medical history presented with low back pain and radicular pain in the right lower extremity. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine showed a heterogeneous intensity mass in the lateral recess of the spinal canal at the L4-5 disk level. Postoperatively, her radicular pain resolved within a few days with excellent low back pain relief. Ligamentum flavum hematoma is a rare differential diagnosis for cystic lesions in the lumbar spine that can be removed simply by surgery with excellent relief of symptoms and improvement in strength of the right lower extremity and increased sensitivity.

Textiloma: A Case of Foreign Body Mimicking a Spinal Tumor.

STUDY DESIGN: Case report OBJECTIVE.: To report a case of foreign body mimicking spinal tumor. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Gossypiboma or more broadly retained foreign object is a surgical complication resulting from foreign materials such as cotton or gauze pads and surgical sponge, accidentally left inside a patient's body. Such foreign materials cause foreign body reaction in the surrounding tissue. METHODS: A retrospective case report was performed. Informed consent was obtained from patient. RESULTS: We describe a case of textiloma in which the patient presented with low back pain and radiculopathy 12 years after L5\S1 discectomy. Imaging revealed a round mass lesion in the sacral space. CONCLUSION: At the end of surgery, the operative site should be flushed with saline and carefully examined for any foreign materials. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

The diagnostic performance of ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter and color Doppler indices of the ophthalmic arteries in detecting elevated intracranial pressure.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurement and color Doppler indices of the ophthalmic arteries in detecting elevated intracranial pressure (ICP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total 60 patients with (cases, n=30) and without (controls, n=30) acute clinical and computed tomographic findings of elevated ICP due to intracranial mass/hemorrhage were recruited from a teaching hospital. The mean binocular and maximum ultrasonographic ONSDs, as well as the mean binocular Doppler ultrasound waveform indices of the ophthalmic arteries including pulsatility index (PI), resistive index (RI), end-systolic velocity (ESV), peak systolic velocity (PSV) and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared to controls, the case group had significantly higher mean binocular ONSD (5.48 ± 0.52 mm vs. 4.09 ± 0.22 mm, p<0.001), maximum ONSD (5.63 ± 0.55 mm vs. 4.16 ± 0.23 mm, p<0.001), mean PI (1.53 ± 0.16 vs. 1.45 ± 0.20, p=0.01), and mean RI (0.76 ± 0.07 vs. 0.73 ± 0.04, p=0.01). The mean EDV, in contrast, was significantly higher in controls (8.55 ± 3.09 m/s vs. 7.17 ± 2.61 m/s, p=0.01). The two groups were comparable for the mean PSV (30.73 ± 7.93 m/s in cases vs. 32.27 ± 10.39 m/s in controls, p=0.36). Among the mentioned variables, the mean binocular ONSD was the most accurate parameter in detecting elevated ICP (sensitivity and specificity of 100%, cut-off point=4.53 mm). The Doppler indices were only moderately accurate (sensitivity: 56.7-60%, specificity: 63.3-76.7%). CONCLUSION: While the ultrasonographic mean binocular ONSD (>4.53 mm) was completely accurate in detecting elevated ICP, color Doppler indices of the ophthalmic arteries were of limited value.