Nontraumatic subdural hematoma in a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta and renal failure

Fatality owing to pulmonary hemorrhage following pamidronate disodium administration in a neonate with osteogenesis imperfecta type 2: A case report

We report the case of a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) who developed pulmonary hemorrhage 4 d after pamidronate disodium (PA) administration, despite a relatively stable respiratory status. Bisphosphonates are introduced to reduce osteoclast activity and are now widely used in patients with OI. Bisphosphonates are typically well-tolerated in children, and the standard of care involves cyclic intravenous administration of PA. However, in practice, there is limited experience with the use of PA for severe OI during the neonatal period, and its safety remains uncertain. This report aimed to describe the respiratory events potentially associated with PA in a neonatal patient with OI type 2, suggesting that serious life-threatening complications of pulmonary hemorrhage may occur after PA administration. Further studies are required to assess the relationship between pulmonary hemorrhage and PA administration, aiming to enhance prophylaxis measures.

Nontraumatic subdural hematoma in patients on hemodialysis with end-stage kidney disease: a systematic review and pooled analysis

Background

The original treatment may aggravate when hemodialysis (HD) patients have nontraumatic subdural hematoma (NSDH). End-stage kidney disease patients are at increased risk for NSDH, but its risk factors and outcomes are not sufficiently explored at present.

Methods

Electronic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched by using various combinations of the keywords "Hemodialysis," "Renal Insufficiency," "Extracorporeal Dialysis," "Subdural Hematoma," "Subdural Hemorrhage," "Subdural Hematomas," and "Subdural Hemorrhages" in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Sixteen papers were selected. Relevant patient data were extracted, aggregated, and analyzed.

Results

A total of 74 patients were analyzed, including 37 male, 26 female, and 11 with no gender data, with a mean age of 56 years (range, 16-81 years). There were 43 patients with hypertension, 36 patients with diabetes, 16 patients who used oral anticoagulants before dialysis, and 10 patients with atrial fibrillation. The diagnosis of subdural hematoma (SDH) was made by computed tomography (CT) (n = 51), carotid arteriography (n = 7), surgical exploration (n = 3), and autopsy (n = 2). Forty cases underwent surgical treatment, including craniotomy and burr hole (or twist drill) drainage. The 1 year mortality rate of NSDH was 45.9%. The mortality rate after conservative treatment (61.8%) was higher than that after surgical intervention (32.5%). The mortality rate of NSDH in dialysis patients with atrial fibrillation and in those who used oral anticoagulants before hemodialysis (HD) was 90 and 81%, respectively.

Conclusion

NSDH is rare in HD, and mortality is high if NSDH occurs in dialysis patients. Surgical intervention reduces the mortality from NSDH in patients on HD (p < 0.02). Patients with atrial fibrillation and those who were taking oral anticoagulants before dialysis have a higher NSDH mortality (p < 0.01).

Beware of Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Subdural Hematoma in a 10-Year-Old Child With Minor Head Trauma

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by disruption of normal collagen formation resulting in varying degrees of ligamentous laxity and skeletal vulnerability; the low bleeding potential is easily overlooked. Subdural hematoma (SDH) is a common neurosurgical condition, classically related to the rupture of bridging cortico-dural veins after trauma. In the pediatric population, the age distribution shows a massive preponderance for children in their early first decade. We report a very unusual case of SDH in a 10-year-old boy with OI type I, with history of minor trauma. SDH remains exceedingly rare in OI, and its pathophysiology is unclear. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a unilateral subacute SDH associated with OI in a child of such advanced age. These cases may also carry legal ramifications, including misdiagnosis of child abuse in ambiguous situations that are not thoroughly investigated.

Temporary brittle bone disease: association with intracranial bleeding

We report 20 infants aged between 1 month and 6 months found to have subdural bleeding and also multiple unexplained fractures in a pattern similar to that described earlier as temporary brittle bone disease. Child abuse seemed unlikely as a cause of the fractures as in no case was there clinical evidence of injury commensurate with the fracturing, as some patients had fractures while in hospital and as metaphyseal lesions, when present, were often symmetrical in distribution. Abuse seemed unlikely to have been the cause of the subdural bleeding in several patients; three had clear histories of accidental injury and five had evidence that the initial bleeding was likely to have taken place at birth. Abuse also seemed unlikely as the cause of the syndrome; the nine patients who were returned to their parents had no subsequent allegations of abuse with a mean follow-up period of 15.8 years. The finding of hypermobile joints in the parents of eight of the children is an additional pointer to a natural cause for this condition. The cause of this combination of fractures and subdural bleeding is not yet clear but it is important to be aware that it can result from natural disease.

Osteogenesis imperfecta type III with intracranial hemorrhage and brachydactyly associated with mutations in exon 49 of COL1A2

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heritable bone disorder characterized by fractures with minimal trauma. Intracranial hemorrhage has been reported in a small number of OI patients. Here we describe three patients, a boy (aged 15 years) and two girls (aged 17 and 7 years) with OI type III who suffered intracranial hemorrhage and in addition had brachydactyly and nail hypoplasia. In all of these patients, OI was caused by glycine mutations affecting exon 49 of the COL1A2 gene, which codes for the most carboxy-terminal part of the triple-helical domain of the collagen type I alpha 2 chain. These observations suggest that mutations in this region of the collagen type I alpha 2 chain carry a high risk of abnormal limb development and intracranial bleeding.

Specific entities affecting the craniocervical region: osteogenesis imperfecta and related osteochondrodysplasias: medical and surgical management of basilar impression

INTRODUCTION

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is an inheritable disorder of bone development caused by defective collagen synthesis. The attendant basilar impression or secondary basilar invagination is uncommon but can be devastating.

CLINICAL MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-two patients with osteochondrodysplasia (28 with OI, six with Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, six with Paget's disease, and 12 with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia) with basilar impression were evaluated between 1985 and 2005. The male/female ratio in this cohort was 1:1. The mean age at presentation was 12.2 years.

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms and signs included headache, lower cranial nerve dysfunction, dysphagia, respiratory embarrassment, weakness, and ataxia.

TREATMENT

In the earlier part of the series (1985-1995), all patients with hydrocephalus were shunted and a ventral transoral decompression made for ventral compression of the pontomedullary junction followed by a dorsal occipitocervical fusion. As a result of this evaluation, it was felt that most patients would benefit by early bracing after the hydrocephalus was shunted if it existed. However, 20% of patients still required an anterior ventral decompression and the occipitocervical fusion.

RESULTS

The results showed that the fusions were stable but over a period of time, there was progressive forward bending with osteogenesis imperfecta as well as with the Hajdu-Cheney syndrome. All patients with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia had a good strong stable fusion which stood the test of time.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we feel that early intervention with occipitocervical bracing can prevent the progressive march of significant basilar impression which leads to mortality.

Neurosurgical implications of osteogenesis imperfecta in children. Report of 4 cases

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by disruption of normal collagen formation resulting in varying degrees of skeletal vulnerability, ligamentous laxity, and scleral discoloration. Children with OI may suffer from complex neurosurgical problems affecting the brain and spine. The authors sought to determine the neurosurgical implications of OI in a cohort of patients treated at a quaternary care center for pediatrics. The authors reviewed the case histories of 10 children with OI treated by the neurosurgical service at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto between January 1988 and March 2007. The cases of 4 of these children are highlighted in the article. The most common neurosurgical conditions encountered in this cohort included macrocephaly in 5 patients, subdural hematoma in 3 patients, epidural hematoma in 2 patients, and hydrocephalus in 3 patients. Basilar invagination and spinal fractures were observed in 20% of the cohort. Although some patients could be treated nonoperatively, several required craniotomy for clot evacuation, decompression, and spinal fixation for fracture or basilar invagination, and cerebrospinal fluid shunt insertion. Neurosurgical conditions affecting patients with OI include macrocephaly, the development of an acute intracranial hematoma after often minimal trauma, the development of chronic subdural fluid collections that may require drainage, hydrocephalus (both communicating and noncommunicating), basilar invagination, and subaxial spinal fractures. Surgery may be complicated in some children because of the underlying bone fragility and bleeding diathesis commonly observed in patients with OI.

Causes of death in osteogenesis imperfecta

AIMS

To determine the causes of death in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta, excluding infants with the perinatal lethal form (type II).

METHODS

Seventy nine patients with known osteogenesis imperfecta were identified, 37 of whom had been seen clinically in life. Causes of death were identified from death certificates, postmortem reports, medical records, hospital consultants, relatives, and the Brittle Bone Society's records.

RESULTS

Patients with the milder types of osteogenesis imperfecta, I and IV, often had a normal lifespan and died of unrelated illnesses such as myocardial infarction and malignancy. In some of these patients and in many patients with the more severe type III disease, it was clear that osteogenesis imperfecta contributed significantly to death, almost certainly to many of the respiratory deaths and to deaths from cardiac failure due to kyphoscoliosis. Osteogenesis imperfecta also caused six deaths, directly or indirectly, due to basilar invagination of the skull. Osteogenesis imperfecta may have contributed to deaths from intracranial bleeding. Apparently minor traumatic incidents may have disastrous consequences in patients with this disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Prompt care for respiratory infections and prevention of trauma in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta is essential.

Neurovascular manifestations of heritable connective tissue disorders. A review

BACKGROUND

Heritable disorders of connective tissue are recognized in a small minority of patients with neurovascular diseases. In this report, we review the neurovascular manifestations of four heritable connective tissue disorders: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan's syndrome, osteogenesis imperfecta, and pseudoxanthoma elasticum, as well as two other systemic disorders with potential vascular manifestations: neurofibromatosis and polycystic kidney disease.

SUMMARY OF REVIEW

Typical neurovascular complications of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are carotid-cavernous fistulae, intracranial aneurysms, and cervical artery dissections. Arterial dissections and intracranial aneurysms cause the majority of neurovascular symptoms in Marfan's syndrome. Neurovascular disease is uncommon in osteogenesis imperfecta, although carotid-cavernous fistulae and vertebral artery dissections have been reported. Neurovascular disease in pseudoxanthoma elasticum is characterized by intracranial aneurysms and cerebral ischemia caused by premature arterial occlusive disease. Intracranial occlusive arterial disease is the most common neurovascular manifestation of neurofibromatosis, followed by cervical arteriovenous fistulae and aneurysms and intracranial aneurysms. Intracranial aneurysms are the hallmark of polycystic kidney disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Recognition of an underlying generalized connective tissue disorder may be of considerable importance, although marked phenotypic heterogeneity often complicates the diagnosis of these disorders. Conversely, the association of certain neurovascular anomalies with generalized connective tissue disorders and recognition of their basic molecular defect may offer clues to the etiology and pathogenesis of these neurovascular diseases in general.