Lumbar Drains for Vascular Procedures: An Institutional Protocol Review and Guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Aortic disease requiring open or endovascular repair may result in spinal cord injury in approximately 2%-10% of patients. Cerebrospinal fluid diversion using lumbar drains (LDs) has been validated as a protective measure to mitigate this complication. METHODS: This single-institution retrospective study analyzed the implementation of a standardized protocol and subsequent educational intervention for LDs for aortic vascular procedures over a 4-year period. RESULTS: In 2016-2019, 45 patients had LDs placed for open or endovascular procedures; group 1 included 19 patients with LDs placed before protocol implementation, and group 2 included 26 patients with LDs placed as per the institutional protocol. Demographics and procedural details in both groups were similar. However, there was a significant difference in the number of patients who had emergent versus planned placement of the LD (group 1, 89.5%; group 2, 50%; P < 0.01), volume of cerebrospinal fluid drained (group 1, 453 mL; group 2, 197 mL; P < 0.01), and compliance with 10 mL/hour drainage recommendation (group 1, 68.4%; group 2, 100%; P < 0.01). In group 1, 5 (31.6%) patients experienced neurological complications compared with only 1 (3.8%) in group 2. LD-related complications occurred 3 patients (15.8%) in group 1, whereas none occurred in group 2. Survey results suggested increased health care worker protocol familiarity with educational interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of an institutional protocol for LDs for open or endovascular procedures is feasible and beneficial. Educational modules improve familiarity among all health care providers, which can improve patient care and complication avoidance.

Multilevel somatosensory evoked potentials and cerebrospinal proteins: indicators of spinal cord injury in thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Multilevel somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) and the release of biochemical markers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were investigated to identify patients with spinal cord ischemia during thoracoabdominal aortic repair and/or a vulnerable spinal cord during the postoperative period. METHODS: Thirty-nine consecutive patients undergoing elective aneurysm repair using distal aortic perfusion and cerebrospinal fluid drainage were studied. Continuous SSEP were monitored using nerve stimulation of the right and left posterior tibial nerves with signal recording at the level of both common peroneal nerves, the cervical cord and at the cortical level. CSF concentrations of the markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAp), the light subunit of neurofilament triplet protein (NFL), and S100B were determined at different time points from before surgery until 3 days postoperatively. RESULTS: SSEP indicated spinal cord ischemia in two patients leading to additional intercostal artery reattachments. In one of them the signal loss was permanent and the patient woke up with paraplegia. In the other the signal returned but the patient later developed delayed paraplegia. Three patients without SSEP indications of spinal cord ischemia during surgery later developed delayed paraplegia. The patients with spinal cord symptoms had significant increases, during the postoperative period of CSF biomarkers GFAp (571-fold), NFL (14-fold) and S100B (18-fold) compared to asymptomatic patients. GFAp increased before or in parallel to onset of symptoms in the patients with delayed paraplegia. CONCLUSIONS: Peroperative multilevel SSEP has a high specificity in detecting spinal cord ischemia but does not identify all patients with a postoperative vulnerable spinal cord. Biochemical markers in CSF increase too late for intraoperative monitoring but GFAp is promising for identifying patients at risk for postoperative delayed paraplegia.

[Release of S100beta and IL-6 into cerebrospinal fluid after aortic operation assisted by two different cerebral protective methods].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of two brain protective methods for aortic operation according to S100beta protein (S100beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). METHODS: From November 2004 to April 2005, 14 patients who underwent aortic operations with circulatory arrest were alternatively allocated to one of two methods of brain protection: only deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (core temperature, 18 degrees C) for descending thoracic aorta operations (group DHCA, n = 5) or selective antegrade cerebral perfusion (core temperature, 20 degrees C; flow rate, 10 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) for aortic arch operations with DHCA (group ASCP, n = 9). Indications for surgical intervention were Stanford type A dissection in 11 patients, Stanford type B dissection in 2 patients, false aneurysm on thoracoabdominal aorta in 1 patient. S100beta and IL-6 in CSF were assayed in all patients from each group before cardiopulmonary bypass, as well as 0, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 h after the operation. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in lowest core temperature (P > 0.05), hematocrit in lowest core temperature (P > 0.05) and the velocity of rewarming. Mean circulatory arrest time in ASCP group was significant longer than in DHCA group (P < 0.05). There were much more patients with jugular arteries impaired or accompanied with related cerebrovascular diseases in group ASCP compared to group DHCA. The baseline of S100beta in CSF before cardiopulmonary bypass was no difference. S100beta value in CSF ascended to peak level in 12 h after the operation, showing significantly higher in group DHCA than in group ASCP [DHCA vs. ASCP, (0.90 +/- 0.11) microg/ml vs. (0.61 +/- 0.26) pg/ml]. In most hours after operation there was significant intergroup difference. IL-6 value in CSF ascended to peak level in 12 h postoperative for group DHCA and 0 h postoperative for group ASCP. There was no significance difference observed in IL-6 of CSF between two groups except 6 h and 12 h postoperative. CONCLUSIONS: Brain ischemic injury occurred during aortic operations assisted by brain protective methods is not serious. Unilateral ASCP which can delivery adequate oxygen to brain during circulation arrest has some advantage of alleviating ischemic injury compared with only DHCA.

Naloxone and spinal fluid drainage as adjuncts in the surgical treatment of thoracoabdominal and thoracic aneurysms.

Forty-seven patients who were treated for thoracoabdominal or thoracic aneurysms over a 5 1/2-year period were analyzed for neurologic deficit risk. Patients were divided into two groups for analysis. Twenty-four patients, who were treated from January 1984 to December 1986, did not undergo spinal fluid drainage or naloxone administration (group A). Twenty-three patients, who were treated from January 1987 to August 1989, had spinal fluid drainage (group B); 12 patients in this group also received naloxone as an intravenous drip at 1 microgram/kg/hr for 48 hours after surgery. Permanent neurologic deficits occurred in seven (29%) group A patients but in only one (4%) group B patient, who did not receive naloxone (p less than 0.03). The first two group B patients to receive naloxone showed complete reversal of neurologic deficits on waking from anesthesia. This significant reduction in neurologic deficit was associated with an increased 1-year survival rate (72% in group A, 91% in group B). We conclude that the use of naloxone and spinal fluid drainage reduces the incidence of neurologic deficit that is associated with repair of thoracoabdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms. This reduction in neurologic deficit is associated with improved survival in the long term. The observed reversal of postoperative neurologic deficits with naloxone implicates opiates as a major factor in the pathophysiology of spinal cord ischemia.

[New method for the intraoperative biochemical monitoring of cerebrospinal fluid in surgery of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms]. / Uj módszer a cerebrospinalis fluidum (CSF) intraoperatív biokémiai monitorozásában thoracoabdominalis aortaaneurysma-mútétek során.

Paraplegia remains to be one of the most dangerous complications following thoracoabdominal aortic surgery with an incidence of 0.5 to 40%. Therefore, intraoperative monitoring of spinal cord function is very important when choosing the appropriate surgical technique. Early detection of spinal cord injury continues to be a crucial problem, moreover, the currently applied electrophysiological methods appear to be inaccurate. The aim of the study was to detect prospective spinal cord injury intraoperatively by monitoring the biochemical parameters of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The authors studied the reversible aerobic/anaerobic metabolic changes by monitoring CSF lactate levels, moreover S-100 protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) concentrations--specific for neuroglia and neuronal injury, respectively. One of the important methods to prevent paraplegia is the intraoperative CSF drainage, which may improve spinal cord perfusion. Between 1996-1998 51 patients underwent reconstructive thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm operation. The continuously drained CSF was collected in 10 ml fractions during the preparation, whereas during aortic cross-clamping and de-clamping 10 minute fractions were used. All CSF samples were immediately analysed intraoperatively for pH, pCO2, HCO3, potassium and lactate levels, S-100 protein and NSE were analysed by immunoluminescence. CSF lactate levels increased slightly during aortic clamping and a moderate, but non-significant increase was found in the hyperemic phase (reperfusion) in patients without spinal cord ischemia. Spinal cord injury was detected in 7 cases. These patients exhibited a significant CSF-lactate increase (control vs aortic cross-clamping: 1.9 vs 5.3 mmol/l), moreover CSF-lactate remained elevated throughout the whole operation. Paraplegia did not occur, Tarlov 2 paraparesis developed in four cases and three patients displayed cerebral damage. Intraoperative CSF--especially CSF-lactate--monitoring may help the operating team to detect early anaerobic changes of the metabolism the spinal cord.

Complications to cerebrospinal fluid drainage and predictors of spinal cord ischemia in patients with aortic disease undergoing advanced endovascular therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To study the complications after cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage and predictors of spinal cord ischemia (SCI) after advanced endovascular therapy with CSF drainage for complex aortic disease. METHODS: Between 2009 and 2012, 88 attempts of CSF drainage insertions/84 operations/83 patients, of the 658 operations for aortoiliac diseases, were performed. RESULTS: Indications for therapy were aortic dissection (n = 13) and aortic aneurysm (n = 70), of whom 38 had thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA). In all, 10 had ruptured aorta. The CSF drainages were inserted preoperatively (n = 75) and postoperatively (n = 9). In all, 14 CSF drainages were nonfunctioning. The SCI was present in 29 patients, transient/permanent in 12/17. Intraoperative circulatory instability (P = .001) and operation for TAAA, type II (P = .036), were associated with SCI. Meningitis (n = 1), epidural (n = 1), and subdural (n = 2) hematoma and needle-mediated paresis in 1 leg (n = 1) occurred after CSF drainage. CONCLUSIONS: Complication to CSF drainage occurred too frequently in this selected group of patients with high rate of SCI.

A prospective randomized study of cerebrospinal fluid drainage to prevent paraplegia after high-risk surgery on the thoracoabdominal aorta.

This article is concerned with the study of the effect of several variables, principally that of cerebrospinal fluid drainage, on the incidence of neurologic deficit in a prospective randomized series of patients with extensive aneurysms of the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta (thoracoabdominal type I and II). Forty-six patients had cerebrospinal fluid drainage, and 52 were controls, with a total of 98 available for study. Cerebrospinal fluid pressure was continuously monitored in the former group and pressure maintained less than or equal to 10 mm Hg in 20, less than or equal to 15 mm Hg in 20, and greater than 15 mm Hg in 6 patients during period of aortic clamping. The method of treatment including reattachment of intercostal and lumbar arteries (p = 0.2), temporary atriofemoral bypass during aortic occlusion (p = 0.3), and spinal fluid drainage (p = 0.8) were not statistically significant in reducing the incidence of neurologic deficits. Thus cerebrospinal fluid drainage as we used it, was not beneficial in preventing paraplegia. On appropriate statistical analysis we found that the only significant predictor of delayed deficits was postoperative hypotension (p = 0.006).