OBJECTIVESpontaneous CSF leaks are rare, their diagnosis is often delayed, and they can precipitate meningitis. Craniotomy is the historical “gold standard” repair for these leaks. An endonasal endoscopic approach (EEA) offers potentially less invasiveness and lower surgical morbidity than a traditional craniotomy but must yield the same surgical success. A paucity of data exists studying EEA as the primary management for spontaneous CSF leaks.METHODSThe authors retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea repair at their institution from July 2010 to August 2018. Standardized management includes EEA as first-line treatment, and lumbar puncture (LP) performed 24–48 hours postoperatively. If opening pressure on LP is elevated, CSF diversion or acetazolamide therapy is used as needed. Perioperative lumbar drains are not used.RESULTSOf 46 patients identified, the most common CSF rhinorrhea etiology was encephalocele (28/46, 60.9%), and the most common location was cribriform/ethmoid (26/46, 56.5%). Forty-three patients underwent EEA alone, and 3 underwent a simultaneous EEA/craniotomy. The most common repair strategy was nasoseptal or other pedicled flaps (18/46, 39.1%). Postoperatively, 15 patients (32.6%) received CSF diversion due to elevated ICP, with BMI > 40 kg/m2 being a significant risk factor (odds ratio 4.35, p = 0.033) for postrepair shunt placement. Twelve patients received acetazolamide therapy for treatment of mildly elevated pressures. The average opening pressure of the shunted group was 36 cm H2O and the average for the acetazolamide-only group was 26 cm H2O. Two patients underwent CSF leak repair revision, one because of progressive fungal sinusitis and the other because of recurrent CSF leak. The mean follow-up duration was 15 months.CONCLUSIONSThe paradigm of EEA repair of spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea with postoperative LP to identify undiagnosed idiopathic intracranial hypertension appears to be safe and effective. In the authors’ cohort, morbid obesity was statistically associated with the need for postoperative CSF diversion. This has implications for future surgical treatment as obesity levels continue to rise worldwide.

No abstract

OBJECTIVE The endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) has evolved into a mainstay of skull base surgery over the last two decades, but publications examining the intraoperative and perioperative complications of this technique remain scarce. A prior landmark series of 800 patients reported complications during the first era of EEA (1998–2007), parallel to the development of many now-routine techniques and technologies. The authors examined a single-institution series of more than 1000 consecutive EEA neurosurgical procedures performed since 2010, to elucidate the safety and risk factors associated with surgical and postoperative complications in this modern era. METHODS After obtaining institutional review board approval, the authors retrospectively reviewed intraoperative and postoperative complications and their outcomes in patients who underwent EEA between July 2010 and June 2018 at a single institution. RESULTS The authors identified 1002 EEA operations that met the inclusion criteria. Pituitary adenoma was the most common pathology (n = 392 [39%]), followed by meningioma (n = 109 [11%]). No patients died intraoperatively. Two (0.2%) patients had an intraoperative carotid artery injury: 1 had no neurological sequelae, and 1 had permanent hemiplegia. Sixty-one (6.1%) cases of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak occurred, of which 45 occurred during the original surgical hospitalization. Transient postoperative sodium dysregulation was noted after 87 (8.7%) operations. Six (0.6%) patients were treated for meningitis, and 1 (0.1%) patient died of a fungal skull base infection. Three (0.3%) patients died of medical complications, thereby yielding a perioperative 90-day mortality rate of 0.4% (4 deaths). High-grade (Clavien-Dindo grade III–V) complications were identified after 103 (10%) EEA procedures, and multivariate analysis was performed to determine the associations between factors and these more serious complications. Extradural EEA was significantly associated with decreased rates of these high-grade complications (OR [95% CI] 0.323 [0.153–0.698], p = 0.0039), whereas meningioma pathology (OR [95% CI] 2.39 [1.30–4.40], p = 0.0053), expanded-approach intradural surgery (OR [95% CI] 2.54 [1.46–4.42], p = 0.0009), and chordoma pathology (OR [95% CI] 9.31 [3.87–22.4], p < 0.0001) were independently associated with significantly increased rates of high-grade complications. CONCLUSIONS The authors have reported a large 1002-operation cohort of EEA procedures and associated complications. Modern EEA surgery for skull base pathologies has an acceptable safety profile with low morbidity and mortality rates. Nevertheless, significant intraoperative and postoperative complications were correlated with complex intradural procedures and meningioma and chordoma pathologies.

No abstract

COPD is one of the leading causes of Mortality & Morbidity in the US and is associated with a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases especially arrhythmias, angina, myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure and is directly associated with the severity of COPD described in the GOLD initiative. COPD is an independent risk factor for AF/AFL. Smoking, hypoxia and inflammation all contribute to AF in COPD patients mainly via atrial remodeling while hypercapnia contributes to it via increasing refractoriness of the atrial musculature and a delay in the return of the refractoriness to normal after resolution of the hypercapnia. The most common EKG abnormality found in patients with COPD is P pulmonale and the PQ interval is the strongest predictor of developing AF. The P wave Dispersion (PwD) was also an independent risk factor for the development of AF and was found to be more in the acute phase than in the stable phase.The BODE index, an important prognostic score among patients hospitalized with a COPD exacerbation has a direct co relation with the prevalence of AF/AFL while the DECAF score, which was found to be superior to the CURB 65 score as a mortality predictor for hospitalized patients, includes AF as one of the criteria. Chronic hypoxemia is one of the main reasons for altered pulmonary vein anatomy and hence the presence of COPD was identified as an independent risk factor for the recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias after catheter ablation in patients with COPD and the absence of COPD was also found to be an independent predictor for a successful electrocardioversion. These patients were also found to have an increased incidence of non-PV foci for the arrhythmias. Oral glucocorticoids were associated with an increased risk of developing AF especially high dose steroids. It is recommended to correct the underlying respiratory decompensation while treating patients with AF as they render the treatment of AF ineffective. Nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers should be used as first line rate control agents for AF in patients with concomitant COPD while the β-blockers, sotalol, propafenone can be used in patients with obstructive lung disease who do not have bronchospasm.