Perioperative lumbar drain placement: An independent predictor of tension pneumocephalus and intracranial complications following anterior skull base surgery
✍ Scribed by Jon-Paul Pepper; Erin M. Lin; Stephen E. Sullivan; Lawrence J. Marentette
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 142 KB
- Volume
- 121
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0023-852X
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Objective:
To measure the effect of routine perioperative lumbar drain placement during anterior skull base surgery on the frequency of: 1) tension pneumocephalus and 2) total intracranial complications.
Design:
Retrospective review of a series of patients (n = 161) who underwent the transglabellar/subcranial approach to lesions of the anterior skull base between December 1995 and November 2009. A retrospective cohort (n = 45) underwent routine lumbar drain placement at the time of skull base surgery. The remainder of the series did not undergo routine perioperative lumbar drain placement.
Intervention:
Transglabellar/subcranial surgical approach to the anterior skull base, with or without routine perioperative lumbar drain placement.
Results:
Routine placement of perioperative lumbar drains was an independent predictor of tension pneumocephalus (P =.022, odds ratio = 11.22 [1.218–103.3]). In addition, this practice was also associated with an increased risk of intracranial complications overall (P =.025, odds ratio = 2.623 [1.104–6.233]).
Conclusion:
Routine placement of perioperative lumbar drain may be associated with an increased risk of tension pneumocephalus and intracranial complications during surgery of the anterior cranial base. Laryngoscope, 2011