1/739. pituitary apoplexy after cardiac surgery presenting as deep coma with dilated pupils.Acute clinical deterioration due to infarction or haemorrhage of an existing, often previously unrecognized, pituitary tumour is a rare but well-described complication. It can occur spontaneously or may be caused e.g. by mechanical ventilation, infection or surgical procedures. We report on a case of pituitary apoplexy occurring in a 64-year-old patient 3 weeks after cardiac surgery. The patient presented with deep coma and dilated pupils. magnetic resonance imaging revealed a haemorrhagic pituitary tumour. After prompt endocrinologic replacement therapy with levothyroxine and hydrocortisone the patient regained consciousness. Neurological examination revealed right oculomotor nerve palsy and bilateral cranial nerve VI palsy. Subsequent trans-sphenoidal removal of a nonfunctional macroadenoma with large necrotic areas was performed. The patient recovered completely. To our knowledge, pituitary tumours presenting with a combination of deep coma and dilated pupils must be considered exceedingly rare. Possible pathophysiologic mechanisms are discussed. As our case illustrates, even in severe cases complete recovery is possible if the diagnosis is suspected, and diagnostic and therapeutic measures are initiated in time.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/739. Favourable prognosis of prolonged coma associated with large doses of diazepam in severe tetanus.A report is made of five tetanus patients who were treated with large repetitive doses of diazepam and became comatose. The period of impaired consciousness varied from thirteen to twenty-one days. None had significant respiratory depression, and full recovery occurred in all. It is proposed that diazepam-induced prolonged coma should be regarded as a side-effect rather than a toxic effect and should caution rather than contra-indicate further use of large doses of the drug in the management of tetanus.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/739. Pseudo-subarachnoid hemorrhage: a rare neuroimaging pitfall.OBJECTIVE: We report an unusual case of the CT appearance of diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage in a patient with anoxic encephalopathy, a situation which neurosurgeons, neurologists, and neuroradiologists should be aware of. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A young man collapsed unconscious in jail after abusing an unknown quantity and variety of drugs. CT scan showed a picture compatible with diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage. INTERVENTION: As the patient had a Glasgow Coma Score of 3 no heroic intervention was undertaken. An autopsy performed 40 hours after the initial ictus and 24 hours after death revealed no evidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage but gross and microscopic evidence of anoxic encephalopathy. CONCLUSION: Anoxic encephalopathy can mimic diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage on CT.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.6843993889271keywords = death (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/739. Acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in hematologic complete remission.The authors describe the cases of three patients affected by acute myeloid leukemia, in complete remission, who rapidly developed neurologic symptoms leading to death. Neither clinical characteristics, nor radiological or microbiological procedures, allowed an etiological diagnosis of the neurologic syndrome. Post-mortem examination of the brain showed both macroscopic and microscopic findings compatible with acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis. The difficulty in distinguishing this entity from other CNS disease-related complications (e.g. leukemia infiltration, drug toxicity, hemorrhages) should not lead to an underestimation of the true incidence of this complication. We believe that with more attention to the possibility of this complication there would probably be both a greater possibility of collecting clinical informations about the real impact of this dramatic disease and a stronger hope of finding the right treatment for it.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 28.042403459017keywords = brain, death (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/739. Successful use of alternate waste nitrogen agents and hemodialysis in a patient with hyperammonemic coma after heart-lung transplantation.BACKGROUND: Lethal hyperammonemic coma has been reported in 2 adults after lung transplantation. It was associated with a massive elevation of brain glutamine levels, while plasma glutamine levels were normal or only slightly elevated. In liver tissue, glutamine synthetase activity was markedly reduced, and the histologic findings resembled those of reye syndrome. The adequacy of therapy commonly used for inherited disorders of the urea cycle has not been adequately evaluated in patients with this form of secondary hyperammonemia. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether hemodialysis, in conjunction with intravenous sodium phenylacetate, sodium benzoate, and arginine hydrochloride therapy, would be efficacious in a patient with hyperammonemic coma after solid-organ transplantation. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: A children's hospital. PATIENT: A 41-year-old woman with congenital heart disease developed a hyperammonemic coma with brain edema 19 days after undergoing a combined heart and lung transplantation. methods: Ammonium was measured in plasma. amino acids were quantitated in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid by column chromatography. The effectiveness of therapy was assessed by measuring plasma ammonium levels and intracranial pressure and performing sequential neurological examinations. RESULTS: The patient had the anomalous combination of increased cerebrospinal fluid and decreased plasma glutamine levels. To our knowledge, she is the first patient with this complication after solid-organ transplantation to survive after combined therapy with sodium phenylacetate, sodium benzoate, arginine hydrochloride, and hemodialysis. Complications of the acute coma included focal motor seizures, which were controlled with carbamazepine, and difficulty with short-term memory. CONCLUSIONS: The aggressive use of hemodialysis in conjunction with intravenous sodium phenylacetate, sodium benzoate, and arginine hydrochloride therapy may allow survival in patients after solid-organ transplantation. An acute acquired derangement in extra-central nervous system glutamine metabolism may play a role in the production of hyperammonemia in this illness that resembles reye syndrome, and, as in other hyperammonemic disorders, the duration and degree of elevation of brain glutamine levels may be the important determining factors in responsiveness to therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 80.407345543603keywords = brain, coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/739. Successful plasmapheresis in the not-so-benign Bickerstaff's brain stem encephalitis associated with anti-GQ1b antibody.A patient with Bickerstaff's brain stem encephalitis (BBE) associated with anti-GQ1b antibody developed coma, severe weakness, and respiratory distress. The patient required ventilatory support. After having failed to improve on steroids, she was treated with plasmapheresis. She improved concomitantly with the plasmapheresis treatment and made a complete recovery. BBE associated with anti-GQ1b antibody is generally considered to be benign, and specific treatments have not been established. The results with this patient suggest that the condition is not always benign, and plasmapheresis may be beneficial in this disorder.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 131.95668701712keywords = brain, coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/739. Right median nerve electrical stimulation to hasten awakening from coma.Electrical stimulation of the right median nerve may hasten the awakening of closed head injured, comatose patients. A series of 25 comatose patients have been treated. These patients made better recoveries than similar individuals reported in the literature. In a double-blind pilot project patients in the treated group scored better on interval glasgow coma scale scores, spent fewer days in the intensive care unit, and showed better Glasgow Outcome Scores at 1 month post-injury. Peripheral electrical stimulation of the right median nerve, through activation of the ascending reticular activating system, may be sufficient to arouse the moderate to severely comatose patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.1666666666667keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/739. Application of a rheolytic thrombectomy device in the treatment of dural sinus thrombosis: a new technique.We present a novel application of a transvascular rheolytic thrombectomy system in the treatment of symptomatic dural sinus thrombosis in a 54-year-old woman with somnolence and left-sided weakness. The diagnosis of bilateral transverse and superior sagittal sinus thrombosis was made and the patient was treated with anticoagulant therapy. After an initial period of improvement, she became comatose and hemiplegic 8 days after presentation. After excluding intracerebral hemorrhage by MR imaging, we performed angiography and transfemoral venous thrombolysis with a hydrodynamic thrombectomy catheter, followed by intrasinus urokinase thrombolytic therapy over the course of 2 days. This technique resulted in dramatic sinus thrombolysis and near total neurologic recovery. Six months after treatment, the patient showed mild cognitive impairment and no focal neurologic deficit. Our preliminary experience suggests that this technique may play a significant role in the endovascular treatment of this potentially devastating disease.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/739. Congenital neonatal myotonic dystrophy with persistent pulmonary hypertension and coma: a difficult diagnosis.The fulminant forms of congenital myotonic dystrophy, which rapidly lead to death, are difficult to diagnose. The case described illustrates the roles of persistent pulmonary hypertension in such a fatal form.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2.3510660555938keywords = death, coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/739. Early rebleeding from intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas: report of 20 cases and review of the literature.OBJECT: In this study the authors sought to estimate the frequency, seriousness, and delay of rebleeding in a homogeneous series of 20 patients whom they treated between May 1987 and May 1997 for arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) that were revealed by intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). The natural history of intracranial dural AVFs remains obscure. In many studies attempts have been made to evaluate the risk of spontaneous hemorrhage, especially as a function of the pattern of venous drainage: a higher occurrence of bleeding was reported in AVFs with retrograde cortical venous drainage, with an overall estimated rate of 1.8% per year in the largest series in the literature. However, very few studies have been designed to establish the risk of rebleeding, an omission that the authors seek to remedy. methods: Presenting symptoms in the 20 patients (17 men and three women, mean age 54 years) were acute headache in 12 patients (60%), acute neurological deficit in eight (40%), loss of consciousness in five (25%), and generalized seizures in one (5%). Results of the clinical examination were normal in five patients and demonstrated a neurological deficit in 12 and coma in three. Computerized tomography scanning revealed intracranial bleeding in all cases (15 intraparenchymal hematomas, three subarachnoid hemorrhages, and two subdural hematomas). A diagnosis of AVF was made with the aid of angiographic studies in 19 patients, whereas it was a perioperative discovery in the remaining patient. There were 12 Type III and eight Type IV AVFs according to the revised classification of Djindjian and Merland, which meant that all AVFs in this study had retrograde cortical venous drainage. The mean duration between the first hemorrhage and treatment was 20 days. Seven patients (35%) presented with acute worsening during this delay due to radiologically proven early rebleeding. Treatment consisted of surgery alone in 10 patients, combined embolization and surgery in eight, embolization only in one, and stereotactic radiosurgery in one. Three patients died, one worsened, and in 16 (80%) neurological status improved, with 15 of 16 AVFs totally occluded on repeated angiographic studies (median follow up 10 months). CONCLUSIONS: The authors found that AVFs with retrograde cortical venous drainage present a high risk of early rebleeding (35% within 2 weeks after the first hemorrhage), with graver consequences than the first hemorrhage. They therefore advocate complete and early treatment in all cases of AVF with cortical venous drainage revealed by an ICH.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.16666666666667keywords = coma (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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