The relationship between the level of vitamin D and ruptured intracranial aneurysms among patients with high sun exposure.

Non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) accounts for 3-5% of acute strokes. Intracranial aneurysm is the most common cause of non-traumatic SAH. Vitamin D influences the cardiovascular system, including the formation and rupture of cerebral aneurysms. To evaluate the serum vitamin D level in patients living in the tropical zone who suffered aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and its correlation with demographic and neurological characteristics. This is an analytical cross-sectional study to assess the serum level of vitamin D in a study population of 99 patients treated and diagnosed with aSAH in a public hospital in Recife-PE over a period of 12 months. In the study sample, composed of individuals with high sun exposure due to the lifestyle they lead in a tropical region, we observed hypovitaminosis D (85.9%), with a median of 19.9 ng/ml, although the majority of individuals are skin with high concentration of melanin (Fitzpatrick skin type IV and V). In addition, rates of sun exposure are high to all patients (Solar Index 9.03 P50). Most individuals were female (79.8%); there was no statistical difference in solar exposure/solar index between genders. As for the neurological repercussions, there was no statistical relevance in the clinical prognostic scales evaluated. As the sample was composed mainly of individuals whose economic activity is agriculture, the values of solar index found are vastly higher than those of other studies conducted in high latitude regions. In line with the literature review, some aspects were raised with the objective of justifying such findings that go from the base of the poor diet of these individuals, the increase of melanin in the skin and genetic alterations that directs us to possible mechanisms of natural photoprotection to high sun exposure. Thus, we had a vast majority (85%) of hypovitaminosis D, which in fact makes us wonder if there is any influence of calcitriol on vitamin D receptors in vascular walls and in the cardiovascular system as a whole, which influence bleeding events of this nature. As for the neurological repercussions, measured using assessment scales (Glasgow coma scale, WFNS scale, Hunt-Hess and Fisher's tomographic scale) there was no significant difference in the results. As it is only a descriptive study, the causal relationship of the facts cannot be established. However, in a population exposed to high sun exposure and affected by aneurysmal SAH, there is a significant rate of hypovitaminosis D, which supports the hypothesis that vitamin D plays a role in vascular pathologies, such as cerebral aneurysms and SAH.

Management of a ruptured posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysm with end-to-end in situ bypass: Case report.

Dissecting posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysms are uncommon lesions. Their anatomy and the location of the dissection are variable, however, they usually occurs at the origin of the PICA. Dissecting PICA aneurysms generally have non-vascular morphology involving an entire segment of the artery and cannot be cut. Nevertheless, the detection of these vascular lesions has increased latterly, so it is necessary to recognize it and take the appropriate management modalities for these injuries. In this report, we describe a case of a 73-year-old male patient, who presented a history of severe headache, associated with neck stiffness, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, hypoactivity, mental confusion, and walking difficulty. Radiographic investigation with brain computed tomography (CT) showed mild bleeding in a pre-medullary and pre-pontine cistern, and cerebral angiogram showed a dissecting PICA aneurysm. Despite being a challenging treatment, microsurgery management was the chosen modality. It was performed an end-to-end anastomosis between the p2/p3 segments, showing to be effective with good clinical and radiographic outcomes. We discussed an unusual case, reviewing the current literature on clinical presentations, the angiographic characteristics of the dissecting aneurysms of PICA, and evaluating the clinical and angiographic results of patients undergoing microsurgical treatment.

Upper Cervical Spine Injuries: Profile and Management of 120 Cases.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the profile and management of patients with upper cervical spine injury. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients with upper cervical spine injuries managed at Hospital da Restauração between 2014 and 2020. RESULTS: It presents the profile of 145 injuries recorded by location and classification among the 120 patients, and the management performed. Men are more affected than women, almost half of the patients (42.5%) were aged 16 to 29 years. Neurological deficit was present in 18 cases (15%). Twenty cases presented injury involving the level C1. Most injuries (109 [90.8%]) occurred at the C2 level, the most frequent of which were as follows: isolated type II odontoid fracture (29.2%), miscellaneous fracture of C2 (20%), and isolated hangman's fracture (13.3%). The most used management in type II odontoid fracture was C1-C2 posterior arthrodesis (17/42) followed by odontoid osteosynthesis (12/42). Regarding isolated hangman's fracture, conservative management was performed in 37.5% (6/16), and the technical approach most performed was anterior C2-C3 discectomy and interbody fusion (5/16). CONCLUSIONS: Upper cervical spine injury has a higher prevalence in young men and is most often caused by traffic accidents. The main level affected is C2, and type II odontoid fracture is the most frequent subtype. C1 injury is related to conservative treatment, while C2 or combined C1-C2 injury is related to surgical approach. The management of these injuries is mainly performed with surgical treatment, with C1-C2 posterior arthrodesis and anterior odontoid osteosynthesis representing most of the approaches.

Simultaneous Cranioplasty and External Ventricular Drain Implantation in Patients with Hydrocephalus: Case Series and Literature Review

Introduction The increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) is a neurological complication resulting from numerous pathologies that affect the brain and its compartments. Therefore, decompressive craniectomy (DC) is an alternative adopted to reduce ICP in emergencies, especially in cases refractory to clinical therapies, in favor of patient survival. However, DC is associated with several complications, including hydrocephalus (HC). The present study presents the results of an unusual intervention to this complication: the implantation of an external ventricular drain (EVD) in the intraoperative period of cranioplasty (CP). Methods Patients of both genders who presented with HC and externalization of the brain through the cranial vault after decompressive hemicraniectomy and underwent EVD implantation, to allow the CP procedure, in the same surgical procedure, were included. Results Five patients underwent DC due to a refractory increase in ICP, due to automobile accidents, firearm projectiles, falls from stairs, and ischemic strokes. All evolved with HC. There was no uniform time interval between DC and CP. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was drained according to the need for correction of cerebral herniation in each patient, before undergoing cranioplasty. All patients progressed well, without neurological deficits in the immediate postoperative period. Conclusion There are still several uncertainties about the management of HC resulting from DC. In this context, other CP strategies simultaneous to the drainage of CSF, not necessarily related to ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS), should be considered and evaluated more deeply, in view of the verification of efficacy in procedures of this scope, such as the EVD addressed in this study.

Microsurgical Resection of Glioblastoma in a Patient Infected with Covid-19: A Case Report

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected a large number of patients in all countries, overwhelming healthcare systems worldwide. In this scenario, surgical procedures became restricted, causing unacceptable delays in the treatment of certain pathologies, such as glioblastoma. Regarding this tumor with high morbidity and mortality, early surgical treatment is essential to increase the survival and quality of life of these patients. Association between COVID-19 and neurosurgical procedures is quite scarce in the literature, with a few reported cases. In the present study, we present a rare case of a patient undergoing surgical resection of glioblastoma with COVID-19.

Ultrasonographic Evaluation of the Optic Nerve Sheath in the Diagnosis of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Intracranial hypertension (ICH) is a life-threatening condition that can be observed in several diseases. Its clinical presentation is variable, with headache, nausea, vomiting, visual disturbances, papilledema, and alterations in the level of consciousness. The gold standard for the diagnosis of ICHis still the intracranial implantation of invasive devices. Non-invasive techniques, such as ultrasonography of the optic nerve sheath (USONS), have emerged in recent years with promising clinical results. The authors report the case of a patient with progressive headache associated with visual impairment and papilledema, and the eventual diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension using USONS.

Traumatic Brain Injury Caused by Motor Vehicle Collision and Alcoholism in Piauí

Objectives To determine the relationship between alcohol consumption and the incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with diffuse axonal injury (DAI), determining these indices, checking acquired comorbidities and characterizing the patients by gender, age and race/color, as well as describing the characteristics of the motor vehicle collision (vehicle, period of the day, day of the week and site) in people admitted to an emergency hospital in the city of Teresina, in the state of Piauí, Brazil. Methods We have analyzed the data contained in the medical records of patients admitted with a history of motor vehicle collision and severe TBI in intensive care units, based on the forms provided by the Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU, in the Portuguese acronym) in the period between February 28 and November 28, 2013. Results In the period covered by the present study, 200 individuals were analyzed, and 54 (27%) had consumed alcohol; of these 11 had DAI. Of the total sample, 17% (34) presented DAI, however, with unknown data regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Conclusion Considering the data, we observed that the profile of the head trauma patients are brown men, mostly (53.5%) aged between 15 and 30 years. The collisions occurred mostly on weekends and at night (55%), and 89.5% of the crashes involved motorcycles.

Modified Pfeffer Questionnaire for Functional Assessment in Parkinson Disease.

INTRODUCTION: It was proposed to modify the Pfeffer questionnaire (PQ) for functional assessment in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). AIM: To determine the cutoff score for diagnosis of functional impairment in patients with PD by modified PQ (mPQ). METHODS: A total of 110 patients with PD were enrolled into the study, and a neuropsychological test battery was performed to assess their cognitive status. Regarding functional assessment, the mPQ has been applied, and their results were compared to the functional assessment by Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly adapted for use in Brazil (IQCODE-BR). The statistical analysis was accomplished through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with evaluation of the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity of the new cutoff point. RESULTS: Eighty-nine patients with PD were evaluated with a mean age of 63.69 ± 9.14 years. Cognitive status categorization was 28.10% as normal, 44.94% as mild cognitive impairment, and 26.96% of patients as dementia associated with PD. The average score on PQ was 3.49 ± 4.79 and on the mPQ 2.56 ± 3.49. In IQCODE-BR, the average score was 6.75 ± 32.72. The ROC curve for the new cutoff point presented 47.4% sensitivity, 88.10% specificity, and 0.757 of area under the curve, with a standard deviation of 0.055 (95% confidence interval: 0.650-0.864). CONCLUSION: 3.5 is proposed as the cutoff point to define functional impairment in patients with PD by mPQ.

Cervical Internal Carotid Artery Saccular Aneurysm Manifesting with Progressive Dysphonia / Aneurisma sacular da artéria carótida interna cervical manifestando-se por disfonia progressiva

Aneurysm of the cervical internal carotid artery is a rare condition, which can trigger severe neurologic complications. The authors report a case of a female patient of 54 years, presenting as a progressive dysphonia, which revealed it to be an aneurysmof the extracranial portion of the internal carotid artery. Endovascular treatment was used.

Aneurisma da artéria carótida interna cervical é uma patologia infrequente, podendo desencadear severas complicações neurológicas. Os autores relatam o caso de uma paciente feminina de 54 anos, apresentando-se por disfonia progressiva, que revelou tratar-se de um aneurisma da porção extracraniana da artéria carótida interna, tendo sido empregado o tratamento endovascular.