Prolonged facial hypesthesia resulting from greater occipital nerve block.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jimmy R Fulgham.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Posterior leukoencephalopathy typically denotes neurotoxicity from immunosuppressive agents, malignant hypertension or eclampsia. It has not been documented in central nervous system angiitis. We present three cases associated with isolated cerebral angiitis after review of all cases of isolated CNS angiitis from 1998 to 2000. Additional lesions beyond the posterior occipital lesions became evident in two cases. A cerebral angiogram and possibly brain biopsy to detect isolated angiitis should be considered in patients with posterior leukoencephalopathy of unknown etiology.
We evaluated the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in patients with suspected vasospasm from subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including DWI, was performed in 5 patients with vasospasm resulting from SAH. Restricted diffusion (ischemia) was present in 3 patients with symptomatic vasospasm. A diffusion abnormality was not demonstrated in 2 patients with asymptomatic vasospasm despite persistently elevated velocities by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in 1. In this patient, serial MRI studies showed no ischemia. Our results suggest that DWI may provide a method to assess the presence and severity of ischemia in patients with SAH and vasospasm and assist in patient management.
OBJECT: The authors studied patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) to determine whether the incidence of symptomatic vasospasm or overall clinical outcomes differed between patients treated with craniotomy and clip application and those treated by endovascular coil occlusion. METHODS: The authors reviewed 415 consecutive patients with aneurysmal SAH who had been treated with either craniotomy and clip application or endovascular coil occlusion at a single institution between 1990 and 2000. Three hundred thirty-nine patients underwent surgical clip application procedures, whereas 76 patients underwent endovascular coil occlusion. Symptomatic vasospasm occurred in 39% of patients treated with clip application, 30% of patients treated with endovascular coil occlusion, and 37% of patients overall. Compared with patients treated with clip application, patients treated with endovascular coil occlusion were more likely to suffer acute hydrocephalus (50 compared with 34%, p = 0.008) and were more likely to harbor aneurysms in the posterior circulation (53 compared with 20%, p < 0.001). Logistic regression models controlling for patient age, admission World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grade, acute hydrocephalus, aneurysm location, and day of treatment revealed that, among patients with an admission WFNS grade of I to III, endovascular coil occlusion carried a lower risk of symptomatic vasospasm (odds ratio [OR] 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.14-0.8) and death or permanent neurological deficit due to vasospasm (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.08-1) compared with craniotomy and clip application. Similar models revealed no difference in the likelihood of a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 3 or less at the longest follow-up review (median 6 months) between treatment groups (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.28-1.21). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with better clinical grades (WFNS Grades I-III) at hospital admission were less likely to suffer symptomatic vasospasm when treated by endovascular coil occlusion, compared with craniotomy and clip application. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in overall outcome at the longest follow-up examination between the two treatment groups.
OBJECTIVE: To identify specific radiographic features on computed tomographic (CT) imaging that can predict neurologic deterioration in patients with large middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarctions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a 10-year retrospective review from January 1, 1991, through December 31, 2001, of medical records and CT scans of patients with large MCA infarctions. Neurologic deterioration was defied as progressive drowsiness or signs of herniation. The CT scans were grouped into 3 periods according to time after ictus. Radiographic features reviewed included hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign (HMCAS), more than a 50% loss of MCA territory, sulcal effacement, loss of lentiform nucleus or insular ribbon, and septal and pineal shift. Demographic and radiographic variables were compared by using t tests and the Fisher exact test. Prognostic values were calculated for all significant radiographic variables. RESULTS: Thirty-four CT scans in 22 patients before neurologic deterioration were compared with 47 scans obtained in 14 patients without neurologic worsening. There were no demographic differences between groups. Initial analysis revealed that early (<12 hours) involvement of more than 50% of the MCA territory (P=.047; odds ratio [OR], 14.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-189.42) and the HMCAS at any time (P<.001; OR, 21.6; 95% CI, 3.54-130.04) were independent predictors of neurologic deterioration. The positive predictive power for early involvement of more than 50% of the MCA and the HMCAS was 0.75 and 0.91, respectively. CONCLUSION: The HMCAS and early CT evidence of more than 50% MCA involvement are predictive of neurologic deterioration in patients with large MCA infarcts.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.