BACKGROUND The impact of antithrombotic agents (warfarin, clopidogrel, ASA) on traumatic brain injury outcomes is highly controversial. Although cerebral atrophy is speculated as a risk for acute intracranial hemorrhage, there is no objective literature evidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a retrospective, consecutive investigation of patients with signs of external head trauma and age ≥60...

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is the etiologic agent of varicella (primary infection) and herpes zoster (reactivation of latent infection). Although varicella is most often a relatively benign and self-limited childhood illness, the disease can be associated with a variety of serious and potentially lethal complications in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised persons. One complication of v...

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a relatively frequent problem in neurologic or neurosurgical practice [1]. The potential for recovery from the evacuation of a CSDH is relatively high. However, some postoperative complications may affect the postoperative course [2]. In this study, we report a rare complication of contralateral acute hematoma following the evacuation of a CSDH with burr-hole...

OBJECTIVE To describe the incidence and nature of neurologic complications following liver transplantation. METHODS Adult patients who received liver transplants at St. James's University Hospital between September 1, 1990, and August 31, 2000, were identified. Case notes were reviewed and demographic data, details of the liver disease, neurologic complications, and discharge information were...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Embolization of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is commonly used to achieve nidal volume reduction before microsurgical resection or stereotactic radiosurgery. The purpose of this study was to examine the overall neurologic complication rate in patients undergoing AVM embolization and analyze the factors that may determine increased risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS We per...

Wernicke's encephalopathy is caused by thiamine deficiency, and is characterized by acute mental confusion, ataxia, and ophthalmoplegia. It is also a rare neurologic complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, because of its rare incidence, Wernicke's encephalopathy can easily be overlooked in HSCT patients, and a few misleading steps in the early stage of the disea...

Postoperative complications are directly related to poor surgical outcomes in the elderly. This review outlines evidence based quality initiatives focused on decreasing neurologic, cardiac, and pulmonary complications in the elderly surgical patient. Important anesthesia quality initiatives for prevention of delirium, the most common neurologic complication in elderly surgical patients, are out...

PURPOSE Plasma cell meningitis is an uncommon neurologic complication of multiple myeloma with a very poor prognosis (median overall survival of 3 months). CASE REPORT We describe a previously heavy treated 54-year-old caucasian female with Bence Jones multiple myeloma who developed, shortly after a good partial response to a third line therapy, a plasma cell meningitis. Intrathecal chemother...