Epidemiological analysis of 189 cases of traumatic intracranial extradural hematoma treated by surgery / Análisis epidemiológico de 189 casos de hematoma epidural tratados quirúrgicamente

Objective: To analyze the epidemiology, clinical and radiological presentation of patients with extradural hematoma (EDH) who underwent surgery in our service and their neurological status at the time of discharge. Method: We reviewed the charts of 189 patients who were admitted to our service with EDH and were treated surgically, during the period of August 1998 to January 2007. Results: In 49.2 percent the mechanism of trauma was falling; 49.7 percent of the cases had GCS between 13-15; 45.0 percent had skull fractures; 32.8 percent had associated intracranial injuries. Conclusion: We observed that 76.2 percent of surgically treated patients were discharged with minimum or no neurological deficits.

Traumatic atlantoaxial rotatory subluxation in adults: report of two cases and literature review / Subluxación atlantoaxial rotatoria traumática en adultos: reporte de dos casos y revisión de la literatura

Atlantoaxial subluxation is defined as an instability of the atlas (C1) over the axis (C2), due to failure or rupture of the ligament complex in the C1-C2 joint. It occurs most frequently in childhood, due to atlantoaxial ligament laxity, a common condition at this age group and may have traumatic or nontraumatic causes. The clinical features of this entity are the presence of upper cervical pain, limitation of neck mobility, torticollis and muscle spasm. The treatment of rotatory subluxation should be individualized because there is no evidence in the literature showing the superiority of a particular therapeutic proposal. In this study we describe two cases of atlantoaxial subluxation of traumatic origin in adults and review the literature regarding the main aspects of this entity.

Subluxación atlantoaxial se define a una inestabilidad del atlas (C1) sobre el axis (C2), debido a un fallo o rotura del complejo del ligamento de la articulación C1-C2. Es más frecuente en la infancia, debido a la laxitud del ligamento atlantoaxial, una condición común en este grupo de edad y puede tener causas traumáticas o no traumáticas. Las características clínicas de esta entidad son la presencia de dolor cervical superior, limitación de la movilidad del cuello, tortícolis y los espasmos musculares. El tratamiento de la subluxación rotatoria debe ser individualizado en porque no hay una evidencia en la literatura que muestra la superioridad de una propuesta terapéutica en particular. En este estudio se describen dos casos de subluxación atlantoaxial de origen traumático en adultos y se hace una revisión de la literatura respecto a los principales aspectos de esta entidad.