Spontaneous epidural spinal haematoma in children caused by vascular malformations.

PURPOSE: The occurrence of spinal epidural haematoma of 'spontaneous' origin in adults is a well-documented entity, though it is rare in children. In the literature to date, there are few cases of this kind of spontaneous haematoma proven to be due to an underlying vascular abnormality. METHOD: Retrospective review of two cases of children under 15 years of age with spontaneous epidural spinal haematoma. RESULTS: Underlying arteriovenous malformations were identified in both cases. Intra-operative photographs and histological sections of these anomalies are presented. CONCLUSION: These are the first two such cases described with clinico-pathological correlation.

Review of practices in myelomeningocoele repair at King's College Hospital, London.

Myelomeningocoele remains a significant neurosurgical challenge. We have carried out a retrospective study evaluating the practices of myelomeningocoele repair at our institute over the last 5 years. Additionally, for patients that have been followed up for at least 12 months, we have investigated parameters describing functional outcome up to this period. With the recent Management of Myelomeningocoele (MOMS) study re-igniting interest in the condition, we aim to provide contemporary practice and outcome data to add to the literature.

The management of hydrocephalus in children with posterior fossa tumours: the role of pre-resectional endoscopic third ventriculostomy.

AIMS: The purpose of this retrospective case series was to determine the incidence of complications and outcomes associated with a primary management policy of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) prior to posterior fossa tumour resection in a single paediatric neurosurgical unit. METHODS: Between July 1999 and August 2007, 59 children with posterior fossa tumours were surgically managed. Based on presenting neurology, imaging criteria and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure during ventriculostomy, patients were categorised into no (n = 16), mild (6), moderate (22) or severe (15) hydrocephalus on admission. RESULTS: Thirty-seven (63%) patients underwent ETV within (mean) 1.5 days of admission, and of those, 32 (87.1%) exhibited significant improvement in presenting symptomology immediately after ETV. Complications arising after ETV included CSF infection/meningitis (n = 2) and bleeding (n = 1). ETV failed in 5/37 patients over the follow-up period. There was a significant association between increasing severity of hydrocephalus before ETV and increased number of complications (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The use of pre-resectional ETV at this institution is an effective and safe procedure with a high success rate at up to 7.5 years of follow-up. We believe that all paediatric neurosurgical institutions should review their practice regarding hydrocephalus associated with posterior fossa tumours in the light of the controversy surrounding perioperative CSF diversion.

Clinical and microbiologic features guiding treatment recommendations for brain abscesses in children.

BACKGROUND: There are no guidelines for the management of brain abscesses in children, and there is a paucity of recent data describing clinical and microbiologic features. We aimed to identify factors affecting outcome to inform antibiotic recommendations. METHODS: From 1999 to 2009, 118 children presented with brain abscesses to 4 neurosurgical centers in the United Kingdom. Clinical, microbiologic and treatment data were collected. RESULTS: The commonest preceding infection was sinusitis, with 59% of all children receiving antibiotics before diagnosis. Nonspecific symptoms were common, with only 13% having the triad of fever, headache and focal neurological deficit. Time between symptom onset and diagnosis varied widely (median, 10 days; range, 0-44). Magnetic resonance imaging was more frequently diagnostic than computed tomography. The most frequent organisms were Streptococcus milleri (38%), except after penetrating head injury or neurosurgery, for which Staphylococcus aureus was most common. The commonest empiric antibiotics were ceftriaxone/cefotaxime and metronidazole, which offered effective antimicrobial therapy in up to 83% of cases. Metronidazole added benefit in a maximum of 7% of cases, with ceftriaxone/cefotaxime alone sufficient in at least 76% and in all cases with cyanotic congenital heart disease or meningitis. A carbapenem would have been effective in 90%. The case fatality rate was 6% (33% in the immunocompromised). Long-term neurological sequelae affected 35%. Age younger than 5 years and a Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤8 were associated with poor outcome at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend ceftriaxone/cefotaxime and metronidazole as empiric treatment, although metronidazole may be unnecessary in many cases, with antistaphylococcal cover in cases of head trauma. Meropenem potentially would be a better choice in the immunocompromised. A prospective study of intravenous and oral treatment guided by clinical improvement is required beause 1-2 weeks of intravenous antibiotics during a total of 6 weeks may be sufficient in children.