Postoperative cerebral venous infarction.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative cerebral venous infarction (POCVI) is not an uncommon complication in cranial surgeries. However, literature is sparse on the epidemiology and management of postoperative venous infarcts.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim was to study the incidence and clinico-radiological course of POCVI in patients in a tertiary level neurosurgical unit and compare the outcome between pediatric and adult patients following POCVI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective study carried out over an 8 month period, consecutive patients undergoing elective major cranial surgeries were monitored neurologically and with serial computed tomography (CT) of the head for POCVI in the postoperative period. All patients had at least one CT head done within 24 hours of surgery. Diagnosis of hemorrhagic POCVI was based on the presence of subcortical, multifocal hyperdensities with irregular margins and or low density areas in the perioperative fields. Nonhemorrhagic POCVI was diagnosed if CT showed a localized hypodensity poorly demarcated in the subcortical white matter with/without mass effect, along with the presence of fresh neurological deficits.

OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS: A total of 376 patients were enrolled in the study period. Of these, 26 (7%) developed POCVI. The male: female ratio was 1.2:1 and age ranged from 6 to 68 years with 12 (46%) being under the age of 18 years. Sixteen (61%) patients developed hemorrhagic POCVI and 10 (39%) patients developed nonhemorrhagic POCVI. The mean time to POCVI detection was 72 hours (range 24-144 hours). Seventeen (66%) patients were managed conservatively, and nine (34%) patients underwent decompressive craniectomy as an additional procedure for management of POCVI. In five patients (all with hemorrhagic POCVI), the infarction was an incidental finding. Of the 21 patients with symptomatic POCVI, 13 (61.9%) patients improved neurologically and were discharged with residual deficits. Two (9.5%) showed no neurological improvement till discharge, and 6 (28.5%) died during the hospital stay following POCVI.

CONCLUSIONS: Children constitute a significant population (46% in our study) of the patients who develop POCVI with poor outcome similar to that seen in adult patients.