We reviewed records of 387 patients with cancer who had Ommaya reservoirs placed between October 1967 and December 1982. Complications of reservoir placement were reported in 27 patients, including intracranial hemorrhage (5 patients) and reservoir malfunction (15 patients). In 15 of 19 patients with meningitis, the infection was linked to the reservoir. The organism most frequently implicated was Staphylococcus epidermidis. Seizures, leukoencephalopathy, and pericatheter necrosis were seen in 10 patients who had received intraventricular chemotherapy.

No abstract

No abstract

Forty cancer patients with bilateral diffuse cerebral white matter hypodensities on computerized tomography (CT) scan were reviewed. Brain irradiation and/or chemotherapy were considered responsible for the CT abnormalities in all patients but one, whose changes were presumably due to demyelination related to the aging process. Among these 39 patients, 7 had clinical symptoms of leukoencephalopathy. Two patients had acute transient leukoencephalopathy, and one of them experienced permanent neurologic changes after continuing treatment. Six additional patients had delayed leukoencephalopathy. The interval between whole-brain irradiation (WBXRT) alone and the CT detection of white matter hypodensities was almost always longer than 1 year. This interval was shortened to less than 1 year in a significant number of patients when WBXRT was followed by various chemotherapeutic protocols. More importantly, there was an increased incidence of clinical leukoencephalopathy. A higher incidence of clinical leukoencephalopathy in patients receiving intracarotid chemotherapy in the treatment of brain tumors and in patients receiving combination chemotherapy for central nervous system relapse of adult leukemia suggests a need for further investigation.

No abstract