Neurosurgical aspects of cerebral cryptococosis

K. H. Chan, K. S. Mann, C. P. Yue, S. J. Haines, F. K. Conley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Eleven patients with raised intracranial pressure caused by cerebral cryptococcosis developed complications requiring neurosurgical operations. Two patients were fully conscious on admission, and 9 had impaired consciousness, four of whom were comatose. Seven patients were found to have hydrocephalus only. Two patients had cerebral edema initially, and 2 had cystic lesions. One of the latter developed subdural effusion. All patients eventually developed progressive hydrocephalus requiring placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Four patients were initially treated by external ventricular drainage. When external ventricular drainage was used initially, there were no associated complications; however, there was a high incidence of complications (4 of 7 patients) when a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was placed as the initial treatment. Of the 11 patients, 10 (91%) survived; of these 9 (82%) made an excellent recovery and 7 (64%) returned to their original work. The patient who died had been receiving steroid therapy for hypopituitarism.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)44-48
Number of pages5
JournalNeurosurgery
Volume25
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 1989

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