我那覇 司

Background: Malignant hemispheric infarction is a life-threatening condition with a high mortality rate. Decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC) is frequently a life-saving procedure that has shown the highest grade of evidence for patients 18 to 60 years of age. However, the efficacy of DHC in patients >60 years of age has rarely been investigated. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in a single academic institution. Surrogates of patients with clinical signs of impending brain herniation despite standard medical therapy were offered the option of DHC regardless of age or the side of the lesion. The clinical data from 18 patients >60 years of age who underwent DHC for malignant hemispheric infarction in our institution were analyzed. Patients were classified into the following 2 groups: 61-70 and >70 years of age, and their demographics and surgical outcomes were compared. The variables compared included the male: female ratio, side of the lesion, type of stroke, site of vascular occlusion, use of thrombolytic therapy, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, stroke onset-to-DHC interval, duration of hospital stay, infectious complications, and 90-day mortality rate. Results: There were no significant intergroup differences in any of the demographic variables evaluated. However, the 30-day mortality rate was significantly higher in the group that was >70 years of age (0% v 60%; P = .01) than in the group that was 61 to 70 years of age. Conclusions: We suggest that the efficacy of DHC in malignant hemispheric stroke patients between 61 and 70 years of age be further investigated in future randomized trials. By contrast, it appears unlikely that patients >70 years of age would benefit from DHC.

Chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) is an uncommon but potentially serious complication of clipping unruptured cerebral aneurysms. We conducted a study to identify the patients who are at risk of developing postoperative CSDH. The data from 713 consecutive patients who underwent clipping of unruptured anterior circulation aneurysms were reviewed, and risk factors correlated with CSDH were identified by multivariate regression analysis of demographic variables. Fifteen patients (2.1%) developed CSDH after the surgery. Advanced age (odds ratio [OR] 1.151, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.051-1.261) and male gender (OR 3.167, 95% CI 1.028-9.751) were correlated with CSDH. Subsequently, all 713 patients were quadrichotomized on the basis of gender and age, with 70 years as the cut-off value for age. The frequency of CSDH in men <70 years of age was 1.3% and that in men 70 years of age was 15.1%, with risk of CSDH was significantly higher in the older men (OR 13.39; 95% CI: 3.42-52.44). The frequency of CSDH in women <70 years of age was 0.6% and that in women >= 70 years of age was 3.7%. As in men, the risk of CSDH was significantly higher in the older women (OR 6.69, 95% CI 1.10-40.73). The interval between the aneurysm clipping and CSDH development was 0.5-6 months, suggesting that clinical observation should be continued up to 6 months after surgery. Although prognosis for patients with a. postoperative CSDH complication is generally favourable, the risk of CSDH should be taken into account when considering elective clipping of unruptured aneurysms in patients >= 70 years of age. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are frequently complicated by acute cardiac dysfunctions, including cardiac wall motion abnormality (WMA). Massive release of catecholamine into the systemic circulation after aneurysmal rupture is believed to result in WMA, and poor-grade SAH seems to be the most important risk factor. However, plasma catecholamine levels have rarely been measured in SAH patients with WMA, and previous studies indicated that the elevated levels might not necessarily predict WMA. The objective of this study is (1) to evaluate relationship between WMA and plasma catecholamine levels in poor-grade SAH patients in the acute phase and (2) to clarify clinical characteristics of SAH patients with WMA. Among 142 poor-grade (World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies grades IV and V) SAH patients, 48 underwent both transthoracic ultrasound and measurement of plasma catecholamine levels within 24 h of SAH onset. They were divided into WMA+ (n = 23) and WMA- (n = 25) groups, and intergroup comparison was made on demographics, plasma catecholamine levels, and outcomes. Plasma norepinephrine levels were significantly higher in WMA+ group than in WMA- group (2,098.4 +/- 1,773.4 vs. 962.9 +/- 838.9 pg/mL, p = 0.02), and the former showed significantly worse outcomes 90 days after admission. There were no intergroup differences in the plasma levels of epinephrine. Plasma norepinephrine levels were inversely correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that increased plasma norepinephrine levels were predictive of WMA, although age, female sex, and grade V SAH were not. This retrospective study highlights the role of norepinephrine in pathogenesis of SAH-induced WMA.