We present a case of intracranial arteriovenous fistula with perimedullary venous drainage presenting with acute myelopathy, which is an unusual presentation of this uncommon condition. Subsequent catheter angiogram defined the arterial feeders from the meningohypophyseal trunk and petrosal branch of the middle meningeal artery. The patient was successfully embolised, resulting in complete obliteration of the fistula, and significant resolution of brainstem and cervical cord changes along with clinical improvement.

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Citation Systematic ReviewPage 16 ABSTRACTIntroduction: Chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) is one of the commonest forms of intracranial haemorrhage. Surgical drainage of CSDH is a routine operation in the modern neurosurgical practice which has shown to be the most effective way in treating this entity; however, the incidence of recurrence of the haematoma post operatively remains as high as 26.5%. The risk factors for CSDH recurrence remains an area of ongoing research. Objective: We have conducted a systematic review to evaluate the available literature addressing the risk factors for CSDH recurrence, aiming to minimise or at least identify patients at higher risk of recurrence in order to decrease associated morbidity. Methods: Ovid via Medline, PubMed, and Google scholar databases were searched for eligible studies, search results were then limited to studies in English language, Humans and studies published within the last 5 years. The included studies were critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool, and each study has then been ranked using the Harbour and Miller hierarchy of ranking.Results: Based on available evidence, we classified the risk factors associated with recurrence to patients', radiological, and surgical factors. Patient factors include history of seizures, trauma, alcoholism, brain atrophy, and presence of CSF shunts, while the role of diabetes in relation to the recurrence is controversial. Radiologically the presence of air in the subdural space post-operatively, the width of the haematoma, and the presence of bilateral CSDHs are associated with increased risk of recurrence. While the predictive value of multiple membranes in the CSDH remains controversial. Surgically, the risk of recurrence was noted to be higher in patients with parietal or occipital compared to those who had frontal burr hole drainage, also placing a subdural drain decreases the chance of recurrence and some evidence showed better outcomes for frontally placed drains. The role of anti-inflammatory agents (including steroids) remains an area of ongoing debate. Conclusions: Risk factors for CSDH can be divided into patients', radiological, and surgical factors. We encourage health care providers to minimize if not prevent potentially avoidable factors. Patients with increased risks for recurrence should be identified early by the treating team and when possible should be informed about their higher than usual risk of recurrence. Moreover this review highlights the general lack of a sufficiently powered class I evidence addressing this topic and that further research is required in this topic.

Introduction Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES) has significant medical, social and legal consequences. Understanding the number of people presenting with CES and their demographic features is essential for planning healthcare services to ensure timely and appropriate management. We aimed to establish the incidence of CES in a single country and stratify incidence by age, gender, and socioeconomic status. As no consensus clinical definition of CES exists, we compared incidence using different diagnostic criteria. Methods All patients presenting with radiological compression of the cauda equina due to degenerative disc disease and clinical CES requiring emergency surgical decompression during a one-year period were identified at all centers performing emergency spinal surgery across Scotland. Initial patient identification occurred during the emergency hospital admission, and case ascertainment was checked using ICD-10 diagnostic coding. Clinical information was reviewed and incidence rates for all demographic and clinical groups were calculated. Results We identified 149 patients with CES in one year from a total population of 5.4 million, giving a crude incidence of 2.7 (95% CI: 2.3-3.2) per 100,000 per year. CES occurred more commonly in females and in the 30-49 year age range, with an incidence per year of 7.2 (95% CI 4.7-10.6) per 100,000 females age 30-39. There was no association between CES and socioeconomic status. CES requiring catheterisation had an incidence of 1.1 (95% CI: 0.8-1.5) per 100,000 adults per year. The use of ICD-10 codes alone to identify cases gave much higher incidence rates, but was inaccurate, with 55% (117/211) of patients with a new ICD-10 code for CES found not to have CES on clinical notes review. Conclusion CES occurred more commonly in females and in those between 30-49 years, and had no association with socioeconomic status. The incidence of CES in Scotland is at least four times higher than previous European estimates of 0.3-0.6 per 100,000 population per year. Incidence varies with clinical diagnostic criteria. To enable comparison of rates of CES across populations, we recommend using standardised clinical and radiological criteria and standardisation for population structure.