A 40-year-old man presented with a severe headache, lower back pain, and lower abdominal pain 1 month after a head injury caused by falling. Computed tomography (CT) of the head demonstrated bilateral chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) with a significant amount in the left frontoparietal region. At the same time, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbar spine also revealed CSDH from L2 to S1 level. A simple drainage for the intracranial CSDH on the left side was performed. Postoperatively, the headache was improved; however, the lower back and abdominal pain persisted. Aspiration of the liquefied spinal subdural hematoma was performed by a lumbar puncture under fluoroscopic guidance. The clinical symptoms were dramatically improved postoperatively. Concomitant intracranial and spinal CSDH is considerably rare so only 23 cases including the present case have been reported in the literature so far. The etiology and therapeutic strategy were discussed with a review of the literature. Therapeutic strategy is not established for these two concomitant lesions. Conservative follow-up was chosen for 14 cases, resulting in a favorable clinical outcome. Although surgical evacuation of lumbosacral CSDH was performed in seven cases, an alteration of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure following spinal surgery should be reminded because of the intracranial lesion. Since CSDH is well liquefied in both intracranial and spinal lesion, a less invasive approach is recommended not only for an intracranial lesion but also for spinal lesion. Fluoroscopic-guided lumbar puncture for lumbosacral CSDH following burr hole surgery for intracranial CSDH could be a recommended strategy.

Based on pathologic and surgical anatomical characteristics, a combination of an endovascular procedure with 2-staged craniotomy for complete trapping, thrombectomy, and vasa vasorum obliteration could be considered a feasible way to treat VA-thrombosed giant aneurysms located ventral to the brain stem and have their distal neck portions/patent vessel beyond the midline toward the contralateral side.

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BACKGROUNDNegative-pressure hydrocephalus (NePH) is a rare clinical entity that presents on the background of ventriculomegaly with atypical symptoms. Its diagnosis is difficult, and some patients experience several shunt revisions until the proper solution is found.OBSERVATIONSThe authors present a patient who developed acute deterioration due to iatrogenic NePH after surgery for a vertebral artery thrombosed giant aneurysm. The deterioration occurred after the insertion of a lumbar drain by which the authors intended to reduce a postoperative subcutaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection. The drainage created an unexpected negative-pressure gradient in the CSF spaces, which resulted in NePH. Interventions, such as extraventricular drainage and blood patch, corrected the negative transmantle pressure and stabilized the patient’s condition.LESSONSBecause the pathophysiology of NePH is theoretically considered to be caused by negative transmantle pressure, the intervention should be performed in order to deal with the coexistence of obstruction in the CSF pathways and a CSF leak. A blood patch would be an effective option in treating the CSF leak when the site of leakage is certain. This is the first case in which a blood patch was effectively applied in the treatment for NePH with a favorable outcome without any permanent CSF diversion.

Background Since phase 3 randomized clinical trials failed to show the benefit of bevacizumab(Bev) from the induction therapy, Bev was widely used for the recurrence glioblastoma(GBM) cases. Given that Bev treatment for newly diagnosed GBM(nd-GBM) is permitted only in Japan, we could confirm the appropriate usage and timing of Bev for the GBM patient clinically. Here, we report the clinical benefit of Bev for nd-GBM based on the retrospective cohort study. Methods We retrospectively investigated 172 GBM patients who were treated with surgery, radiation therapy(RT) and temozolomide(TMZ) at our hospitals in 2006 to 2020. We classified with and without Bev patients for age, Karnofsky performance status(KPS) and extent of resection(EOR). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare median overall survival(mOS) between patients who were treated with Bev simultaneously during Stupp regimen(S-Bev) and without Bev(NS-Bev). Results Bev provided prolonged mOS in the elderly(>60 years old)(p<0.01), poor KPS(<70)(p=0.015) and low EOR(<90%)(p<0.01) groups. In addition, mOS was longer in S-Bev compared with NS-Bev in the elderly and low EOR groups, and there was statistically significant difference in low EOR group(p<0.01). S-Bev tended to prolong mOS in elder patients(p=0.06) and NS-Bev tended to prolong in young patients(p=0.31). Conclusion Bev therapy commenced simultaneously with concurrent RT and TMZ might contribute to improve mOS for patients with high risk including the elderly, poor KPS and low EOR. Stratification based on risk factors including age and EOR might be effective for patients in whom Bev should be preferentially used as a first-line therapy.