Abstract
The authors describe the case of a 24-year-old man who underwent an L-1 corpectomy for spinal decompression and stabilization following an injury that caused an L-1 burst fracture. Postoperatively, an accumulation of spinal fluid developed in the pleural space, which was refractory to 1 week of thoracostomy tube drainage and lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion. The authors then initiated a regimen of positive-pressure ventilation in which a bilevel positive airway pressure (PAP) mask was used. After 5 days, the CSF collection in the pleural space resolved. Use of a bilevel PAP mask represents a safe, noninvasive method of reducing the negative intrathoracic pressure that promotes CSF leakage into the pleural cavity and may be a useful adjunct in the treatment of subarachnoid-pleural fistula.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 319-322 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of neurosurgery |
Volume | 94 |
Issue number | 2 SUPPL. |
State | Published - 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cerebrospinal fluid fistula
- Positive-pressure ventilation
- Spinal decompression
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery
- Clinical Neurology