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Background Aneurysm rerupture and bilateral fixed and dilated pupils (bFDPs) typically have a poor prognosis across all age groups. The synchronous occurrence of both features in the infantile demographic has not been previously reported. Case Description We describe the near-fatal clinical course of a 7-month-old infant who experienced an acute giant aneurysm rerupture with signs of bFDPs. The patient was rapidly managed with neurosurgical intervention and has achieved a favorable outcome 1 year later. Conclusions This case highlights that survival of infants who present with intracranial aneurysmal rerupture and bFDPs is amenable to rapid neurosurgical intervention and should be remembered in clinical practice.

Objective A large national surgical registry was used to establish national benchmarks and associated predictors of major neurologic complications (i.e., coma and stroke) after surgical clipping of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data set between 2007 and 2013 was used for this retrospective cohort analysis. Demographic, comorbidity, and operative characteristics associated with the development of a major neurologic complication (i.e., coma or stroke) were elucidated using a backward selection stepwise logistic regression analysis. This model was subsequently used to fit a predictive score for major neurologic complications. Results Inclusion criteria were met by 662 patients. Of these patients, 57 (8.61%) developed a major neurologic complication (i.e., coma or stroke) within the 30-day postoperative period. On multivariable analysis, operative time (log odds 0.004 per minute; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.002–0.007), age (log odds 0.05 per year; 95% CI, 0.02–0.08), history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (log odds 1.26; 95% CI, 0.43–2.08), and diabetes (log odds 1.15; 95% CI, 0.38–1.91) were associated with an increased odds of major neurologic complications. When patients were categorized according to quartile of a predictive score generated from the multivariable analysis, rates of major neurologic complications were 1.8%, 4.3%, 6.7%, and 21.2%. Conclusions Using a large, national multi-institutional cohort, this study established representative national benchmarks and a predictive scoring system for major neurologic complications following operative management of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. The model may assist with risk stratification and tailoring of decision making in surgical candidates.

Previous studies have demonstrated that increasing age is associated with decreased rates of operative management and gross total resection in patients with vestibular schwannomas.The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data registry was used for this retrospective cohort analysis. Patients enrolled in the registry from 2007 to 2013 with a diagnosis of a benign neoplasm of a cranial nerve were included. The association between age and postoperative morbidity and mortality was evaluated by the use of multivariable logistic regression analyses.Of 565 patients included for analysis, the mean (median) age was 51 (53) years. Three clusters were evaluated:50, 50-69, and ≥70 years. Mortality (0% vs. 1.03% vs. 4.55%, P = 0.012), stroke (0% vs. 0.69% vs. 6.82%, P0.001), and ventilator weaning failure (0.43% vs. 2.41% vs. 6.82%, P = 0.014) increased with age. Mean age was significantly greater among patients who died (70.60 vs. 50.87 years, P = 0.002) or had a stroke (68.00 vs. 50.89 years, P = 0.006), cardiac arrest (71.50 vs. 50.89 years, P = 0.038), or coma (74.00 vs. 50.96 years, P = 0.020) and those who failed ventilator weaning (62.55 vs. 50.82, P = 0.006). Age as both a continuous (odds ratio 1.10, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.18) and categorical variable (age 70+ years odds ratio 78.88, 95% confidence interval 3.41-1825.57) was associated with an increased odds of composite morbidity.In patients undergoing surgery for benign cranial nerve neoplasms, increasing age is associated with increased mortality, stroke, coma, and ventilator weaning failure. Composite complication rates are significantly greater in patients ≥70 years, with a near 80-fold increased risk of complications.

Background Shunt infections are a major complication following ventricular shunts in adults that lead to increased heath care costs, patient morbidity, and mortality. Methods to decrease shunt infection include antibiotic-impregnated catheters, protocol-based surgery, and shunt reservoir antibiotic injection. Methods An Institutional Review Board–approved retrospective review was performed for all adult shunt surgeries performed from January 2000 to September 2013 at a single academic institution. Records were cross-indexed with hospital billing records to identify patients who received antibiotic injections and cross-referenced with a prospective infection control database of all surgical site infections. The primary outcome measure was shunt infection within 1 year of surgery. Results Five-hundred thirteen adult patients met inclusion criteria. Antibiotic reservoir injection was associated with a significantly lower rate of infection (2.6%) when compared with no injection (6.3%, P = 0.0455). The antibiotic injection group also included significantly more patients with infection risk factors than the control group (38.8% vs. 18.0%, P Conclusion Antibiotic reservoir injection is an effective method of reducing shunt infections in adults when combined with standard infection control measures.

To determine the rate of surgical site infection (SSI) after resection of an intracranial neoplasm using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data set and to identify potential risk factors associated with SSI.The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Participant Use Data File was queried during the period 2006-2013 for patients who underwent a resection for an intracranial neoplasm. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors associated with SSI.Inclusion criteria were met by 12,021 patients. SSI occurred at a rate of 2.04%. SSI was significantly associated with increased rates of return to the operating room (56.1% vs. 4.0%, P0.001) and postoperative lengths of stay30 days (5.3% vs. 1.3%, P0.001) on unadjusted bivariate analysis. On multivariable analysis, age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.991, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.982-0.999) and female sex (OR = 0.697, 95% CI = 0.538-0.902) were associated with a reduction in the odds of SSI. Preoperative wound infections (OR = 3.833, 95% CI = 1.834-8.0011) and operative times4 hours (OR = 1.891, 95% CI = 1.298-2.756) were associated with an increased odds of SSI. Among cases with available chemotherapy data (n = 3504), recent chemotherapy (OR = 3.007, 95% CI = 1.460-6.196) was associated with an increased odds of SSI.This study identified patient risk factors that may assist clinical decision making regarding patient risk stratification, timing of surgery, and preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis for patients with an intracranial neoplasm undergoing craniotomy.