Background:Patients with head injury continue to improve over time and a minimum follow-up of six months is considered necessary to evaluate outcome. However, this may be difficult to assess due to lack of follow-up. It is also well known that operated patients who return for cranioplasty usually have the best outcome.Aims and Objectives:To assess the outcome following severe head injury using cranioplasty as a surrogate marker for good outcome.Materials and Methods:This was a retrospective study carried out from January 2009 to December 2010. All patients with severe head injury who underwent decompressive craniectomy (DC) in the study period were included. Patients who came back for cranioplasty in the same period were also included. Case records, imaging and follow up visit data from all patients were reviewed. Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) on admission and Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) at discharge were assessed.Observations and Results:Of the 273 patients, 84.25% (n=230) were males and 15.75% (n= 43) were females. The mean age was 34.3 years (range 2-81 years, SD 16.817). The mean GCS on admission was 5.615 (range 3-8, SD 1.438). The in-hospital mortality was 54% (n=149). Good outcome (GOS of 4 or 5) at discharge was attained in 22% (n=60) patients. Sixty five patients returned for cranioplasty (with a GOS of 4 or 5) during the study period. There was no statistical difference in the number of patients discharged with good outcome and those coming back for cranioplasty in the study period (P>0.5). Patients who came back for cranioplasty were younger in age (mean age 28.815 years SD 13.396) with better admission GCS prior to DC (mean GCS 6.32 SD1.39).Conclusions:In operated severe head injury patients significant number of patients (24% in our study) have excellent outcome. However, insignificant number of patients had further improvement to GOS 4 or 5 (good outcome) from the time of initial discharge. This suggests that due to lack of intensive rehabilitative facilities, GOS at discharge may be representative of final outcome in the vast majority of cases of severe head injury in developing countries like India

No abstract

Tuberculosis of the central nervous system (CNS) is a life threatening condition with 50% mortality in advanced disease and serious neurological deficits in those who survive. Tuberculous abscess is a rare manifestation of CNS tuberculosis, brainstem involvement being even rarer. The management of these conditions poses a great challenge to the treating physician. We report a case of large tubercular abscess of pons which increased in size on anti-tubercular treatment, but showed excellent improvement following craniotomy and aspiration.

No abstract

Nocardial brain abscess is a rare central nervous system infection with high morbidity and mortality. Most of the human infections, i.e., about 90%, are due to Nocardia asteroides group comprising N. asteroides complex, Nocardia farcinica , and Nocardia nova . Other species rarely cause human infections. Here, we report a case of left parieto-occipital abscess caused by a rare species, Nocardia araoensis , its diagnosis, treatment options, and review of literature. A 73-year-old male, known case of diabetes mellitus, on prolonged oral corticosteroid for autoimmune hemolytic anemia presented with a 1-month history of memory deficit and gait imbalance. On examination, he had a right inferior quadrantanopia and hemiparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a multiloculated ring-enhancing lesion in the left parieto-occipital region. Navigation-assisted biopsy was done. The organism isolated was N. araoensis . He was treated successfully with prolonged course of antibiotics which resulted in complete clinical and radiological resolution. N. araoensis is a rare cause of brain abscess and needs to be suspected in immunocompromised individuals. Early diagnosis and prolonged treatment can result in complete clinical and radiological resolution.