Preoperative evaluation and treatment methods of non-firearm penetrating brain injury in children / 中华神经医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the preoperative evaluation and treatment methods of non-firearm penetrating brain injury (PBI) in children.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed. The clinical data of 18 children with non-firearm PBI admitted to our hospital from January 2012 to December 2020 were collected.Results:CT angiography was performed in 10 patients and MRI in 8 patients before treatment. CT angiography indicated that the intracranial large vessels were not injured by the foreign bodies. The foreign bodies of 7 patients were removed by craniotomy and the foreign bodies of 3 patients were removed directly under general anesthesia; the foreign bodies of 8 patients were removed directly outside the hospital without anesthesia. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage was noted in 4 patients and intracranial infection in 7 patients after surgery; no foreign body residue or intracranial hemorrhage after surgery was noted. After 3-69 months of follow-up, 3 patients had visual decline, one had limited eye movement, and one had olfactory decline.Conclusion:CT angiography is a safe and effective evaluation method for children with non-firearm PBI, and direct extraction of foreign body under general anesthesia is a feasible surgical method when CT angiography shows that the blood vessels are not hurted by the foreign bodies.