An unusual penetrating craniocerebral injury due to landmine explosion: a case report.

Penetrating landmine injuries are the unavoidable consequences of military conflicts. They are potentially life-threatening. The mortality rates in the literature range from 23% to 92% and are considerably higher in patients admitted with poor neurologic state. Penetrating craniocerebral injuries require early surgical management designated to prevent infection and remove foreign objects, necrotic tissue and complicating blood clots, as well as to minimalize post-traumatic sequelae. We report herein an interesting case of penetrating intracerebral injury with giant shrapnel due to landmine in a 20-year-old young man.

Management of head trauma due to landmine explosions: from battle field to operation room.

BACKGROUND: Head injuries due to landmine explosions are not well studied and the management of such injuries is not documented, even though there is, unfortunately, a regrettably high incidence of such injuries in the military and in civilians. METHODS: The data of 119 patients who underwent surgery for the head injuries due to landmine explosions were reviewed retrospectively. All of these patients were military personnel, and the mean age was 23 years. RESULTS: A total 83 (69.7%) of the cases were injured by the anti-personnel devices and 36 (30.3%) by vehicle landmines. Fifty percent of the patients underwent surgery for depressed skull fracture, intraparenchymal foreign body, epidural haematoma or subdural haematoma. Six (0.05%) patients died in the emergency room. CONCLUSION: Landmine explosions can produce classic injury patterns from blunt and penetrating mechanisms to several organ systems, including the brain. They also produce unique injury patterns to the brain. Understanding this important difference is critical in management of these injuries. Early surgical treatment and appropriate management could save more lives.

Anti-inflammatory effect of meloxicam on experimental vasospasm in the rat femoral artery.

Cerebral vasospasm influences morbidity and mortality following subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Inflammation is believed to play a role in post-haemorrhagic vasospasm. Meloxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. We investigated the effect of meloxicam on a rat femoral artery vasospasm model using the radial wall thickness and cross-sectional lumen area as parameters under light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy examination. Rats were randomly separated into SAH, SAH+ meloxicam and control groups. Rats in the SAH+ meloxicam group were given meloxicam at 2 mg/kg daily for 7 days. Femoral arteries were examined by light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and for morphometric analysis. A statistically significant difference (p<0.001) was detected between the SAH and SAH+ meloxicam groups. Meloxicam treatment reduced ultrastructural and morphometric vasospastic changes. These findings support the hypothesis that inflammation may play a role in the pathophysiologyical pathways of post-haemorrhagic cerebral vasospasm.