Remote cerebellar hemorrhage (RCH) is a rare complication following supratentorial craniotomies with unclear pathophysiology, predisposing factors, and clinical outcomes. This is a case of a 46-year-old female who presented to the emergency room with a complaint of severe headache associated with nausea. MRI studies demonstrated right frontal lesions consistent with low-grade glioma. She underwent a right frontal craniotomy, and the tumor was resected successfully. She developed a severe headache on postoperative day five, and CT scans showed ipsilateral cerebellar hematoma. She was managed conservatively and made a complete recovery within five days. Although rare, RCH requires prompt recognition, neurological monitoring, and management. Medical management and observation may be considered for patients without mass effect or acute hydrocephalus.

Neurosurgical patients represent a high-risk population for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs). A lower intraoperative driving pressure (DP) is related to a reduction in postoperative pulmonary complications. We hypothesized that driving pressure-guided ventilation during supratentorial craniotomy might lead to a more homogeneous gas distribution in the lung postoperatively.
This was a randomized trial conducted between June 2020 and July 2021 at Beijing Tiantan Hospital. Fifty-three patients undergoing supratentorial craniotomy were randomly divided into the titration group or control group at a ratio of 1 to 1. The control group received 5 cmH2O PEEP, and the titration group received individualized PEEP targeting the lowest DP. The primary outcome was the global inhomogeneity index (GI) immediately after extubation obtained by electrical impedance tomography (EIT). The secondary outcomes were lung ultrasonography scores (LUSs), respiratory system compliance, the ratio of the partial pressure of arterial oxygen to the fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2) and PPCs within 3 days postoperatively.
Fifty-one patients were included in the analysis. The median (IQR [range]) DP in the titration group versus the control group was 10 (9-12 [7-13]) cmH2O vs. 11 (10-12 [7-13]) cmH2O, respectively (P = 0.040). The GI tract did not differ between groups immediately after extubation (P = 0.080). The LUSS was significantly lower in the titration group than in the control group immediately after tracheal extubation (1 [0-3] vs. 3 [1-6], P = 0.045). The compliance in the titration group was higher than that in the control group at 1 h after intubation (48 [42-54] vs. 41 [37-46] ml·cmH2O-1, P = 0.011) and at the end of surgery (46 [42-51] vs. 41 [37-44] ml·cmH2O-1, P = 0.029). The PaO2/FiO2 ratio was not significantly different between groups in terms of the ventilation protocol (P = 0.117). At the 3-day follow-up, no postoperative pulmonary complications occurred in either group.
Driving pressure-guided ventilation during supratentorial craniotomy did not contribute to postoperative homogeneous aeration, but it may lead to improved respiratory compliance and lower lung ultrasonography scores.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04421976.

The rate of complications remains significant after craniotomy for supratentorial primary malignant brain tumors despite recent advances.
The goal of this study is to characterize factors associated with these complications.
Data were extracted from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2016 to 2019. Patients who underwent a craniotomy for resection of supratentorial primary malignant brain tumors were included. Covariates included demographics/comorbidities, preoperative laboratory values, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, operative time, and postoperative complications. Multivariable logistic regression with backward and forward selection was used to evaluate independent predictors of death, prolonged hospitalization, postoperative stroke with neurologic deficit (CVA), and unplanned readmission. Predictive fit of the model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC).
Of 8965 included cases, the 30-day postoperative risks were 1.9% for CVA, 10.1% for unplanned readmission, 1.2% for prolonged hospitalization, and 2.4% for death. Age, ASA category, disseminated cancer, preoperative functional dependence, and postoperative respiratory complications were predictors of 30-day mortality (AUC, 0.83; P < 0.001). CVA was best predicted by increased operation time (P < 0.001), age, ASA category, and recent weight loss (AUC, 0.63; P = 0.009). Prolonged hospitalization was predicted by nonelective surgery status, time from admission to surgery, reintubation, and postoperative sepsis (AUC, 0.78; P < 0.001). Unplanned readmission was predicted by chronic steroid use, postoperative thrombotic complications after surgery, organ/space surgical site infection, deep vein thrombosis, postoperative systemic sepsis, and septic shock (AUC, 0.68; P < 0.001).
Our study identifies predictors of major 30-day complications after craniotomy for this subset of patients with brain tumor.

BACKGROUND: Remote cerebellar hemorrhage (RCH) is an extremely rare and potentially fatal complication after supratentorial craniotomy. However, the exact pathophysiological mechanism of RCH remains unclear, so clinicians often lack clinical experience in prevention, early diagnosis, and standardized treatment.
METHODS: The authors retrospectively analyzed data of patients who underwent surgery for supratentorial lesions at their center between 2012 and 2021. They identified 4 patients who developed RCH among 4,075 patients who underwent supratentorial craniotomy. All 4 patients were male, with an average age of 57.5 years. One RCH occurred after tumor resection, and the other 3 occurred after aneurysm clipping. One patient was asymptomatic and received conservative treatment with a favorable outcome. The remaining 3 patients underwent lateral ventricular drainage and/or suboccipital decompression; 2 died, and 1 recovered well.
CONCLUSIONS: The authors believe that RCH should be considered as a multifactorial cause, and massive cerebrospinal fluid loss plays a key role in the development and progression of RCH. Asymptomatic RCH can be treated conservatively. However, in the case of conscious disturbance, hydrocephalus, and brain stem compression, surgery should be performed immediately. Early detection and individualized treatment would be helpful to avoid potentially fatal outcomes caused by RCH.

An infrequent complication, remote cerebellar hemorrhage (RCH) may occur after supratentorial craniotomy at a reported incidence of 0.08-0.6%. Although RCH is mostly self limiting, early diagnosis and treatment are necessary as the condition may result in severe neurologic deficits or mortality. Because RCH is often asymptomatic, occurrence of it was occasionally recognized with brain computed tomography (CT) scans only. We experienced two contrasting cases of RCH in patients with unruptured cerebral aneurysms of the middle cerebral artery. These cases indicate that it should be mandatory to perform a brain CT scans immediately after surgery and on appropriate time to detect RCH. Awareness of this complication and close monitoring are essential for avoiding fatal neurological deficits or mortality.

Pain after supratentorial craniotomy is common, 55 % to 80 % of patients experience moderate to severe pain in the first 48 h(1-7). The importance of intravenous dexamethasone as an adjuvant to local anaesthetics is increasingly applied(1-7), however its role in scalp nerve blocks with ropivacaine 0.75 % remains unexplored in post-operative analgesia. We analyzed 134 supratentorial craniotomies under general anaesthesia, 46 of which had preoperatively bilateral scalp nerve blocks with ropivacaine 0.75 %. The general anaesthesia was standardized and included 8 mg of intravenous dexamethasone at the induction. The postoperative pain was assessed using the numerical rating scale with patients in the post anaesthesia care unit and subsequently every 8 h in the neurosurgery unit until the 48th hour. A NRS value above 3 led to the administration of a rescue analgesic according to the defined protocol until an efficient analgesia was obtained. Postoperative pain was controlled in both groups, however the need for rescue analgesics in the scalp nerve blocks group was reduced by 40 % (39 % vs. 65 %; p = 0.006) compared to the control group. More than 60 % of the patients from the scalp nerve blocks group had an efficient analgesia without any rescue analgesic. Peroperatively the scalp nerve blocks group showed a decrease in opioid consumption and a better hemodynamic stability. No anesthetic or chirurgical complications related to the use of scalp blocks were observed. Scalp nerve blocks associated with intravenous dexamethasone are found to be a straightforward and efficient analgesic approach during supratentorial craniotomies.

Background: A prospective, randomized, double-blind study was designed to assess differences in brain relaxation between 2 doses of 3% HS during elective supratentorial brain tumour surgery.Methods: 60 patients undergoing supratentorial craniotomy for tumour resection were enrolled to receive either 3 mL/kg (group L) or 5 mL/kg (group H) of 3% HS administered at skin incision. Brain relaxation was assessed after dura opening on a scale ranging 1-4 (1 = perfectly relaxed, 2 = satisfactorily relaxed, 3 = firm brain, 4 = bulging brain). Hemodynamic variables and laboratory values (blood gases, osmolarity, haematocrit, and lactate) were collected before HS infusion and 30, 120 and 360 min after it. Presence of midline shift, postoperative complications, PCU and hospital stay, and mortality after 30 days were also recorded.Results: There was no difference in brain relaxation, with 2.0 (1.0-3.0) and 2.0 (1.0-2.3) (P = 0.535) for patients in groups L and H, respectively. If adjusted for the presence of midline shift, 50% of patients had adequate brain relaxation scores (grades 1 and 2) in group L and 61% in group H (OR 0.64, CI = 0.16-2.49, P = 0.515). No significant differences in perioperative outcome, mortality and length of PCU and hospital stay were observed.Conclusion: 3 mL/kg of 3% HS result in similar brain relaxation scores as 5 mL/kg in patients undergoing craniotomy for supratentorial brain tumour. This study reveals that both high and low doses of 3% HS may be less effective on intraoperative brain relaxation in patients with midline shift.

Morphine is commonly used in post-operative analgesia, but opioid-related respiratory depression causes a general reluctance for its use. The \"Integrated Pulmonary Index\" is a tool calculated from non-invasively obtained respiratory and hemodynamic parameters. The aim of this prospective, randomized, double blind, and placebo-controlled study is to determine a more safe and effective dose for morphine in patient-controlled analgesia following supratentorial craniotomy using the \"Integrated Pulmonary Index\".
This study included 60 patients (ASA I, II, and III). All patients used iv PCA for 24 h following supratentorial craniotomy. The PCA was set to administer a bolus dose of 1 mg morphine in Group 1 and 0.5 mg morphine in Group 2. The PCA contained placebo in Group 3 and patients received dexketoprofen 50 mg iv after awakening, repeated every 8 h. The IPI and NRS scores, total morphine consumption, and morphine related side-effects were recorded at 10 min, 1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 h post-operatively. The lowest IPI score, count of apnea, and desaturation events were recorded during the study period.
The IPI scores were similar among the groups. Although a statistically significant difference was not observed among the groups the lowest IPI scores were observed in Group 1; apnea and desaturation counts were also higher in Group 1. Statistically significant differences were not observed among the groups in terms of pain scores, but were lower in Groups 1 and 2 compared to Group 3.
Patient controlled analgesia with 0.5 mg morphine may be safe and effective for pain management following supratentorial craniotomies. Integrated pulmonary index can be used for detecting opioid-induced respiratory depression. Clinical Trials registration number: NCT02929147.

暂无摘要。

BACKGROUND: Remote cerebellar hemorrhage (RCH) is a rare complication after supratentorial craniotomies, which usually presents as linear hemorrhages on the surface of the cerebellum; the exact mechanism of it is not established yet.
METHODS: In case one, a 57-year-old patient demonstrated hemorrhage in the cerebellar sulci in favor of RCH 2 days after craniotomy for sphenoidal wing meningioma resection. He was asymptomatic and showed good prognosis after conservative treatment. However, in the second case, a 21-year-old man presented with symptomatic RCH just after the surgery for resection of huge intraaxial parietooccipital lesion. He had a poor prognosis despite the treatment and died ultimately.
CONCLUSIONS: Although some studies reported the good prognosis for this type of hemorrhage, it can cause neurological and clinical deterioration and result to patient death.