• Neurocritical care · Jun 2024

    Case Reports

    Intracranial Hypertension with Patent Basal Cisterns: Controlled Lumbar Drainage as a Therapeutic Option. Selected Case Series.

    • Pedro Grille, Alberto Biestro, and Harold L Rekate.
    • Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Maciel, Administración de los Servicios de Salud del Estado (ASSE), 25 de Mayo 174, 11000, Montevideo, Uruguay. grillepm@gmail.com.
    • Neurocrit Care. 2024 Jun 1; 40 (3): 107010821070-1082.

    BackgroundThere are pathological conditions in which intracranial hypertension and patent basal cisterns in computed tomography coexist. These situations are not well recognized, which could lead to diagnostic errors and improper management.MethodsWe present a retrospective case series of patients with traumatic brain injury, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and cryptococcal meningitis who were treated at our intensive care unit. Criteria for deciding placement of an external lumbar drain were (1) intracranial hypertension refractory to osmotherapy, hyperventilation, neuromuscular blockade, intravenous anesthesia, and, in some cases, decompressive craniectomy and (2) a computed tomography scan that showed open basal cisterns and no mass lesion.ResultsEleven patients were studied. Six of the eleven patients treated with controlled lumbar drainage are discussed as illustrative cases. All patients developed intracranial hypertension refractory to maximum medical treatment, including decompressive craniectomy in Four of the eleven cases. Controlled external lumbar drainage led to immediate and sustained control of elevated intracranial pressure in all patients, with good neurological outcomes. No brain herniation, intracranial bleeding, or meningitis was detected during this procedure.ConclusionsOur study provides preliminary evidence that in selected patients who develop refractory intracranial hypertension with patent basal cisterns and no focal mass effect on computed tomography, controlled lumbar drainage appears to be a therapeutic option. In our study there were no deaths or complications. Prospective and larger studies are needed to confirm our results.© 2023. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and Neurocritical Care Society.

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