Investigation of the usefulness of fluorescein sodium fluorescence in stereotactic brain biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative frozen section assessment, to confirm acquisition of pathological tissues, is used in stereotactic brain biopsy to minimise sampling errors. Limitations include the dependence on dedicated neuro-oncology pathologists and an increase in operative duration. We investigated the use of intraoperative fluorescein sodium, and compared it to frozen section assessment, for confirming pathological tissue samples in the stereotactic biopsy of gadolinium-contrast-enhancing brain lesions. METHODS: This prospective observational study consisted of 18 consecutive patients (12 men; median age, 63 years) who underwent stereotactic biopsy of gadolinium-contrast-enhancing brain lesions with intravenous fluorescein sodium administration. Twenty-three specimens were obtained and examined for the presence of fluorescence using a microscope with fluorescence visualisation capability. Positive and negative predictive values were calculated based on the fluorescence status of the biopsy samples with its corresponding intraoperative frozen section and definitive histopathological diagnosis. RESULTS: Nineteen specimens (83%) were fluorescent and four (17%) were non-fluorescent. All 19 fluorescent specimens were confirmed to be lesional on intraoperative frozen section assessment and were suitable for histopathological diagnosis. Three of the non-fluorescent specimens were confirmed to be lesional on intraoperative frozen section assessment. One non-fluorescent specimen was non-diagnostic on frozen section and histological assessments. The positive predictive value was 100% and the negative predictive value was 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Fluorescein sodium fluorescence is as accurate as frozen section assessment in confirming sampling of pathological tissue in the stereotactic biopsy of gadolinium-contrast-enhancing brain lesions. Fluorescein sodium fluorescence-guided stereotactic biopsy is a useful addition to the neurosurgical armamentarium.

Incidence of Recurrent Intracerebral Hemorrhages in a Multiethnic South Asian Population.

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for approximately 25% of all strokes in Singapore. Incidence of recurrent ICH is not well studied, and previous studies have reported inconsistent findings in the rate and risk factors associated with ICH recurrences. We aimed to study the incidence of recurrent ICHs in Singapore and to identify the associated risk factors as well as pattern of ICH recurrence. METHODS: A retrospective review of all consecutive admissions for intracerebral hemorrhage at the National Neuroscience Institute between January 2006 and November 2013 was performed. Imaging and computerized clinical records were reviewed. The demographic, clinical, and radiological characteristics of index and recurrent ICH were compared. Univariate analysis was performed using chi-square and Student's t-test, and logistic regression was used to analyze the predictors of ICH recurrence. RESULTS: In total, 1708 patients who survived the index ICH beyond 14 days were followed up for 6398 person-years. Sixty patients developed 68 recurrences of ICH, giving rise to an annual incidence rate of ICH recurrence of 1.1%. A history of previous ischemic stroke (P = .001) and index lobar location of ICH (P = .004) were significantly associated with the occurrence of ICH recurrences on multivariate analysis. The most common pattern on ICH recurrence was ganglionic-ganglionic (44.1%), followed by lobar-lobar (17.6%). Overall mortality of recurrent ICH was 17.6%. CONCLUSION: The average annual incidence rate of primary ICH recurrence in Singapore is 1.1%, and is associated with previous ischemic stroke and lobar location of index ICH.

An Unusual Case of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation in Pregnancy.

We present a case of a woman at 31 weeks and 3 days of gestation, who developed a sudden and severe headache and loss of vision in her left eye. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed a subarachnoid bleed secondary to a right parieto-occipital arteriovenous malformation (AVM). She was conservatively managed and subsequently transferred to our institution for multidisciplinary care. The patient underwent a cesarean section at 34 weeks and 5 days of gestation followed by gamma knife surgery 6 days after. Cerebral AVMs, although relatively rare, have the propensity to cause potentially fatal outcomes. Neurological symptoms in a pregnant woman warrant investigations for early diagnosis and management, due to its associated morbidity and mortality. The management of cerebral AVMs in pregnancy is decided after weighing the benefits of treatment against the risk of bleeding. A multidisciplinary approach should be adopted due to the complexity of the condition.

Surgical resection of carotid-jugular arteriovenous fistula after multiple failed embolisation.

Carotid-jugular fistula is a rare presentation of arteriovenous fistula. A case of a 60-year-old Chinese man who presented with iatrogenic carotid-jugular fistula with multiple fistulous points was reported. His presenting complaint was a gradually enlarging right pulsatile neck mass complicated by worsening symptoms of congestive cardiac failure. He had recent mitral valve annuloplasty, and a right internal jugular central venous pressure monitor insertion was performed then. Angiography revealed right carotid-jugular fistula with feeders from the external carotid, internal carotid and right vertebral arteries, all draining into the right internal jugular vein. He underwent embolisation twice resulting in transient improvement in clinical symptoms, and surgical resection was later performed in view of residual arteriovenous shunting and gradual clinical deterioration. Following surgery, he was discharged and resumed work as a janitor with no recurrent symptoms for 3 years now. In this report to be added into the literature, we discuss a rare case of iatrogenic carotid-jugular fistula with multiple fistulous points which required embolisation and subsequently surgical resection.

When hoofbeats mean zebras not horses: Tumour mimics of subdural haematoma - Case series and literature review.

Chronic subdural haematomas are common neurosurgical conditions, especially in the elderly patients, with straightforward surgical treatments. However, infrequently, tumours are misdiagnosed as subdural haematoma on initial brain CT scans and are only discovered intraoperatively. In this case series, we presented 3 different patients who were initially thought to have subdural haematoma but later found to be tumour mimics of different histological origin. A literature review and discussion of recently published tumour mimics of subdural haematoma was also performed. It is recommended that in patients with suggestive oncological or haematological history, or unusual characteristics on the plain CT brain, a high level of suspicion of tumour mimics needs to be maintained. A full workup with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging is important to distinguish from subdural haematoma, as the treatment paradigms and prognoses are vastly different.

Recovery of Oculomotor Nerve Palsy after Endovascular and Surgical Treatment of Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms: A Single Institutional Experience.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical oculomotor nerve palsy(ONP), defined by ptosis, ophthalmoplegia, diplopia and pupillary dilatation, is associated with intracranial aneurysms, especially posterior communicating artery (PcomA) aneurysms. Treatment of PcomA aneurysms include endovascular coiling and surgical clipping. This study retrospectively compared the recovery of ONP in patients who underwent endovascular coiling or surgical clipping. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients with PcomA aneurysms who presented with ONP between 1998 and 2012 in the National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore, was performed. Inclusion criteria included adult patients of age above 21 who have radiologically confirmed PcomA aneurysms with presentation of ipsilateral ONP. The aneurysms may be unruptured or ruptured with WFNS grade 2 subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) or better. Only patients with completely surgically or endovascularly obliterated PcomA aneurysms with regular follow-up are included. RESULTS: A total of 22 patients were recruited. They were treated by either endovascular coiling or surgical clipping. The two groups of patients were demographically comparable, with 11 patients in each arm. 13 (59%) patients had unruptured aneurysms and 9 (41%) had WFNS grade 2 or better SAH. 13 (59%) patients presented with complete ONP and 9 (41%) had partial ONP. 64% of patients who underwent surgical clipping had resolution of ONP completely, compared to 18% of endovascularly coiling (P = 0.03) at 1-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to endovascular coiling, surgically clipped PcomA aneurysms are associated with a faster rate of full recovery of ONP.

Prevalence of Asymptomatic Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms in a Southeast Asian Population.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of asymptomatic unruptured intracranial aneurysms (AUIA) in a Southeast Asian population has not been previously studied. Knowing the disease burden and population at risk can assist us in making informed decisions when managing AUIAs. We aimed to determine if the local prevalence of AUIAs differed from other populations in the published literature. METHODS: Magnetic resonance angiography radiology reports and images for 4572 patients between January 2013 and January 2014 were reviewed for AUIAs. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of AUIAs was 3.5% (160/4572). It was significantly higher in women (4.5%) compared with men (2.6%) (P < 0.001). The mean aneurysm size was 3.2 ± 1.7 mm. Of the aneurysms, 88.5% (146/165) measured less than 5 mm, 9.7% (16/165) measured 5-9 mm, and 1.8% (3/165) measured more than 9 mm. Most of the aneurysms were located in the cavernous segment (72/165, 43.6%) and ophthalmic segment (34/165, 20.6%) of the internal carotid artery, followed by the middle cerebral artery (16/165, 9.7%). The posterior circulation contributed 9.1% (15/165) of the AUIAs. During the study period, 1 aneurysm ruptured and the rest of the aneurysms did not show any growth. CONCLUSIONS: In this large cohort of a Southeast Asian population, the prevalence of AUIA was 3.5%. Most of the AUIAs were less than 5 mm and did not require intervention at time of discovery and did not progress within the year of follow-up.

Comparison of Gender Differences in Intracerebral Hemorrhage in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population.

BACKGROUND: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10-15% of all first time strokes and with incidence twice as high in the Asian compared to Western population. This study aims to investigate gender differences in ICH patient outcomes in a multi-ethnic Asian population. METHOD: Data for 1,192 patients admitted for ICH were collected over a four-year period. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors and odds ratios were computed for 30-day mortality and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) comparing males and females. RESULT: Males suffered ICH at a younger age than females (62.2 ± 13.2 years vs. 66.3 ± 15.3 years; P<0.001). The occurrence of ICH was higher among males than females at all ages until 80 years old, beyond which the trend was reversed. Females exhibited increased severity on admission as measured by Glasgow Coma Scale compared to males (10.9 ± 4.03 vs. 11.4 ± 4.04; P = 0.030). No difference was found in 30-day mortality between females and males (F: 30.5% [155/508] vs. M: 27.0% [186/688]), with unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (F/M) of 1.19 (P = 0.188) and 1.21 (P = 0.300). At discharge, there was a non-statistically significant but potentially clinically relevant morbidity difference between the genders as measured by GOS (dichotomized GOS of 4-5: F: 23.7% [119/503] vs. M: 28.7% [194/677]), with unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (F/M) of 0.77 (P = 0.055) and 0.87 (P = 0.434). CONCLUSION: In our multi-ethnic Asian population, males developed ICH at a younger age and were more susceptible to ICH than women at all ages other than the beyond 80-year old age group. In contrast to the Western population, neurological status of female ICH patients at admission was poorer and their 30-day mortality was not reduced. Although the study was not powered to detect significance, female showed a trend toward worse 30-day morbidity at discharge.

Use of programmable versus nonprogrammable shunts in the management of hydrocephalus secondary to aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a retrospective study with cost-benefit analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The choice of programmable or nonprogrammable shunts for the management of hydrocephalus after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains undefined. Variable intracranial pressures make optimal management difficult. Programmable shunts have been shown to reduce problems with drainage, but at 3 times the cost of nonprogrammable shunts. METHODS: All patients who underwent insertion of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt for hydrocephalus after aneurysmal SAH between 2006 and 2012 were included. Patients were divided into those in whom nonprogrammable shunts and those in whom programmable shunts were inserted. The rates of shunt revisions, the reasons for adjustments of shunt settings in patients with programmable devices, and the effectiveness of the adjustments were analyzed. A cost-benefit analysis was also conducted to determine if the overall cost for programmable shunts was more than for nonprogrammable shunts. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients underwent insertion of shunts for hydrocephalus secondary to SAH. In 37 of these patients, nonprogrammable shunts were inserted, whereas in 57 programmable shunts were inserted. Four (7%) of 57 patients with programmable devices underwent shunt revision, whereas 8 (21.6%) of 37 patients with nonprogrammable shunts underwent shunt revision (p = 0.0413), and 4 of these patients had programmable shunts inserted during shunt revision. In 33 of 57 patients with programmable shunts, adjustments were made. The adjustments were for a trial of functional improvement (n = 21), overdrainage (n = 5), underdrainage (n = 6), or overly sunken skull defect (n = 1). Of these 33 patients, 24 showed neurological improvements (p = 0.012). Cost-benefit analysis showed $646.60 savings (US dollars) per patient if programmable shunts were used, because the cost of shunt revision is a lot higher than the cost of the shunt. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of shunt revision is lower in patients with programmable devices, and these are therefore more cost-effective. In addition, the shunt adjustments made for patients with programmable devices also resulted in better neurological outcomes.

Uses and limitations of indocyanine green videoangiography for flow analysis in arteriovenous malformation surgery.

Intra-operative indocyanine green (ICG) videoangiography is a useful addition to cerebrovascular neurosurgery. ICG videoangiography is useful in different phases of arteriovenous malformation (AVM) surgery. Additionally, it can be used to perform semi-quantitative flow analysis. We reviewed our initial assessment of 24 patients who underwent ICG videoangiography during AVM surgery to assess the utility and limitations of the technique as well as to demonstrate semi-quantitative flow analysis, a new capability of ICG videoangiography. Over the course of 3 years, we performed 49 ICG videoangiographies in 24 patients with AVM. In 85% of the pre-resection videos, ICG was useful in localising the arterial feeders, the draining veins and the nidus. Intra-resection ICG videos were recorded for eight of the 23 patients (the ICG from one patient was missing). Post-resection ICG videos were recorded for 14 out of the 23 patients, which were useful in confirming no evidence of nidus in the exposed resection cavity and an absence of flow in the main draining vein. Semi-quantitative flow analysis was performed in eight patients with superficial AVM. The average T(½) peak intensities (time to 50% of peak intensity) were 32 s, 33.5 s, and 35.6 s for the arterial feeder, the draining vein and normal cortex, respectively. The arteriovenous T(½) peak time was 1.5 s, and the arteriocortex T(½) peak time was 3.6 s. The T(½) peak fluorescence rates were 84 average intensity of fluorescence (AI)/s, 62.9 AI/s and 28.7 AI/s, for the arterial feeder, the draining vein and normal cortex, respectively. Only one patient of 23 (4.3%) showed residual AVM on post-operative digital subtraction angiography or CT angiography despite negative intra-operative ICG. ICG videoangiography is a useful addition to AVM surgery, but it has some limitations. Flow analysis is a new capability that allows for semi-quantitative AVM perfusion analysis.

Vesico-hip fistula from bladder puncture with subsequent infected total hip arthroplasty.

The association of total hip arthroplasty and bladder injury has been well documented. Most cases of fistula formation between the bladder and the hip arthroplasty have occurred, either at the time of hip arthroplasty or subsequently. We report on this rare case where a bladder puncture resulted in infection of the arthroplasty. This occurred through an acetabular floor defect secondary to osteolysis and the subsequent fistula formation.