Tension Pneumocranium Essay

Tension pneumocranium developes when there is a continuous accumulation of air in the intracranial cavity. It is a rarely encounterable but treatable neurosurgical emergency. A high index of clinical suspicion with corroboration of imaging is needed for accurate diagnosis and prompt action is required to avoid severe consequences. Most patients were treated with decompressive surgery from previous literatures and seldom treated conservatively. A case of tension pneumocranium in a 73 years old women patient who had undergone bifrontal craniotomy and transnasal endoscopic resection of cribriform plate meningioma was described. It was aggravated by lumbar drainage. She was subsequent successfully treated conservatively without any decompressive surgery. This case report discusses the pathophysiology, clinical presentation and the pertinent imaging features of

It usually resolves without any sequelae. However as the amount of air continuously increases in the vault, it becomes tension pneumocephalus that can cause serious complications if untreated. As a result it is important to identified and differentiate a tension pneumocranium from a simple pneumocranium with its characteristics. Computed tomography scanning is the choice of diagnostic modality for the diagnosis of tension pneumocranium with its specific features in the scan. We present a case of 73 years old women who developed tension pneumocranium after a bifrontal craniotomy and transnasal endoscopic resection of a cribriform meningioma which was aggrevated by lumbar drainage. The lumbar drain was inserted as a method of reducing cerebral spinal fluid leakage. She was successfully managed conservatively without decompressive surgery. In the report the underlying pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of tension pneumocephalus will be