NCC Boards Flashcards
Narrowest part of CSF system?
Aqueduct of Sylvius
Cerebral Aqueduct (same thing)
Where are a line and ICP measured/calibrated?
Interventricular foramen of Monro
What creates and absorbs CSF?
Creates: choroid
Absorbs: arachnoids
Goal ICP to improve outcomes and what ICP worse outcomes?
Goal: <20 mmHg
Worse: >20
Brain trauma foundation treatment threshold for ICP?
> 22
Goal osmolar gap for ICP?
<20
CPP equation and goal?
MAP - ICP
Goal 50-70 mmHg
Mannitol dose for elevated ICP?
1 mg/kg
P1
Pressure through choroid plexus into ventricles
P2
Arterial pulse through parenchyma
P3
Closure of aortic valve (dicrotic notch)
P2 > P1
Reduced brain compliance
Impending herniation
Lundberg A Waves
Pathologic
Increased ICP for 5-10 minutes
“Plateau waves”
Reduced compliance
May indicated impending herniation
ICP can rise as high as 50-100 mmHg
Lundberg B Waves
Increase in ICP 0.5 - 2 x/min
Usually don’t exceed 30 mmHg
Indicator of poor compliance
Normal, ventilated, asleep
Steroid dose for brain mets (usually found at grey-white junction)
10 mg IV decadron then 4 mg IV q6h for acute event
what mimics tetanus?
Strychnine poisoning - check thin-layer chromatography on gastric aspirate and urine sample
Orthopnea definition and dx
SOB laying flat
Heart failure
Cheyne-Stokes definition and dx
Cyclic breathing pattern with apnea -> gradual increase in respiratory frequency and tidal volume -> gradual decline -> apnea
Heart Failure
Hyperpnea definition and dx
Increased depth and rate of breathing linked to increased oxygen demand or metabolic activity and ABG will be normal (versus hyperventilation doesn’t have increased oxygen demand or metabolic activity and will have decreased CO2).
Agonal breathing definition and dx
Irregular, gasping or labored breathing
Anoxic brain injury
Kussmaul respirations definition and dx
Deep, rapid and difficult breathing
Metabolic acidosis, uremia, toxic ingestions (etoh and salicylates)
Apneuristic breathing definition and dx
Prolonged, gasping inhalations then extremely short and inadequate exhalations
Upper pons injury (CVA, trauma) - signifies severe injury and poor outcome, temporary induction can happen with ketamine
Biot respiration definition and dx
Deep breaths interspersed with apnea -> increasing irregularity -> ataxic breathing
Damage to pons (CVA, trauma, uncal herniation), occ opiate intoxication
ALS
Upper and lower motor neuron, pyramidal Betz cells in motor cortex, anterior horn cells of spinal cord (retrograde axonal loss) and lower cranial motor nuclei of brainstem, gliosis replaces lost neurons, bunina bodies, sx: hand weakness, shoulder girdle weakness and foot drop; frontotemporal dementia, pseudobulbar palsy, autonomic symptoms, spectrum
Central neurogenic hyperventilation definition and dx
Persistent hyperventilation
Head trauma, brain hypoxia, or inadequate cerebral perfusion due to midbrain or upper pons
Lower motor neuro findings
Muscle atrophy and fasciculations, weakness
Central neurogenic hypoventilation definition and dx
Persistent hypoventilation
Medullary respiratory centers don’t respond appropriately to stimuli (head trauma, cerebral hypoxia and narcotic suppression)
Ondine’s curse
Hypoventilation due to impaired autonomic ventilation control while maintaining normal voluntarily breathing (forget to breathe while asleep, but ok when awake)
Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, brainstem tumors or infarcts, and surgical manipulation of 2nd cervical vertebrae for intractable pain
Upper motor neuro findings
Hyperreflexia, poor dexterity, incoordination and spasticity, bulbar: dysarthria and dysphagia
Pick’s Disease
Frontotemporal dementia
Pseudobulbar palsy
Inappropriate periods of crying, laughing, or yawning from involvement of the frontopontine motor neurons
H/O OLT with multiple ring enhancing lesions, crescent-shaped with red staining nuclei organism and treatment
Toxoplasma Tachyzoites
Tx: pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine + corticosteroids for mass effect, leucovorin to reduce hematologic side effects of treatment, 6 weeks
Treatment of cryptococcal meningitis
Flucytosine and amphoteracin
Treatment of cytomegalovirus encephalitis
Antivirals
Immunocompromised HIV patient with ataxic gait, dysdiadochokinesia and dysmetria, MRI T2 hyperintense noncontrast enhancing lesion in right cerebellar peduncle and subcortical regions etiology and treatment.
Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy from papovavirus (BK, JC, SV40 strains)
Tx: reverse immunocompromised state
Conduction aphasia localization
Information can’t travel from Wernicke’s area to Broca’s area
Posterior aspect of left superior temporal gyrus, left supramarginal gyrus and underlying white matter (including arcuate fasciculus)
Brocas aphasia localization
Broca’s area
Left inferior frontal gyrus
Inability to name unique entities (ex: famous people) location
Left temporal pole
Transcortical motor aphasia localization
Left cingulum bundle
Neck pain, headaches and TIA symptoms name and etiology
Horner syndrome
Right ICA dissection > vertebral artery dissection
Causes of bacterial meningitis by age: 17-59 and >60
Neisseria meningitis
Strep pneumo
4th ventricle lesion with hydrocephalus, increased cell density in papillary fronds without nuclear pleomorphism and necrosis lesion
Choroid plexus papilloma
Meningioma: imaging, commonality, pathology, mutation, path and treatment
Homogenous enhancing, dural based
Infra or supratentorial, can be bifrontal, can be all over
MC primary tumor in adult, women > men,
Arachnoid cells, can be in NF2, Cowden and Gorlin syndrome
22q12
“whorl” of meningothelial cells, “psammoma bodies”
Tx: surgery > radiation (atypical, anaplastic, recurrent, surgically inaccessible), VEGF inhibitors
Glioma: imaging location, pathology, characteristics that portend better prognosis, treatment
Infra or supratentorial, can be bifrontal, can be mutliple
Astrocytes and/or oligodendrocytes, higher grade (GBM): atypia, hypercellular, increased mitotic rate/vascularity/necrosis
IDH-mutant type (vs. IDH-wildtype), MGMT promotion methylation, younger, lower grade = better prognosis than
Tx: surgery, radiation, temozolomide
CNS Lymphoma: imaging, epidemiology, symptoms, other tests, treatment
Wide imaging, diffusion weighted imaging, patchy on post contrast MRI
Increases with age, immunocompromised and immunocompetent
Neurocognitive/neuropsychiatric symptoms possible
Biopsy (large B cell = 90%), LP, optho slit lamp, PET scan, testicular US, bone marrow bx, steroids can obscure diagnosis (lymphotoxic)
Treatment: methotrexate, chemo + autologous stem-cell transplant
Metastatic brain tumors: location, prevalence, MC tumors, location, treatment, better prognosis, risk of recurrence after surgery
Isolation or with multiple lesions
10x’s more common than primary
MC: breast, lung and melanoma (can be any)
Grey-white junction
Treatment: surgery (dominant symptomatic lesion, up to 3 lesions), radiation (whole brain if multiple lesions), steroids (edema), chemo (CNS penetration: methotrexate, thiotepa, cytarabine, temozolamide, vinorelbine, capecitabine, carboplatin, topotecan), immunotherapy, AED (non-enzyme inducing: levetiracetam, lacosamide, zonisamide)
Better: younger, good functional status, solitary lesion
50-60% risk of local recurrence post-resection
Spinal cord tumors: intradural-extramedullary, intradural-intramedullary and extradural types
Intradural-extramedullary: meningioma, nerve sheath tumor
Intradural-intramedullary: ependymoma, astrocytoma
Extradural: metastasis, chordoma, ewing sarcoma/osteosarcoma, lymphoma
Benign spinal cord tumors
Meningiomas, nerve sheath tumors (schwannoma, neurofibroma, ganglioneuroma)
Malignant spinal cord tumors
Gliomas
Benign spinal column tumors
Hemangioma, osteoid osteoma, osteoblastoma
Malignant spinal column tumors
Chordoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewings sarcoma, lymphoma, metastasis (MC in adults), plasma cell neoplasms
Management of spinal cord tumors
Are there neurologic deficits for surgery?
Is the tumor sensitive to radiation or chemo?
Radiosensitive mets: lymphoma, myeloma, small cell lung cancer, germ cell, prostate and breast;
Radioresistant mets: melanoma, RCC, NSCLC, GI cancer, sarcoma;
Carcinomatous Meningitis
Imaging (Dural enhancement, enhancement of meninges, enhancement around brain stem) or LP
CN or radicular nerve deficits
CSF poor sensitivity (3 taps required), MRI brain + c/t/l spine: linear enhancing deposits in cerebellar folia, cortical sulci or cranial nerves; nodular enhancement of the cauda equina or coating of the spinal cord
Whole brain XRT or craniospinal XRT, systemic chemo with CNS penetration (EGFR TK inhibitors), intrathecal chemo (methotrexate, thitepa, cyterabine), palliative shunt placement (if obstructive hydrocephalus)
Paraneoplastic syndromes: ab location, panel location, number of techniques to dx, treatment
Antibodies to cell surface or synaptic antigen or intracellular antigens
Serum and CSF antibody panel - check panel before starting treatment (can be false neg or pos)
Confirm ab positivity with two separate assay techniques
Serial testing not useful
Negative ab test does not exclude a paraneoplastic neurologic disorder
Identify and treat any underlying cancer
Methylprednisolone 1 gm daily x 5 days then taper
IVIG or PLEX > Rituximab and/or cyclophosphamide
Acute complications of radiation therapy: timing, symptoms, treatment, mechanism and prognosis
Days to weeks: AMS, fatigue, worsening preexisting neurologic deficits
Tx: steroids
Potential mechanisms: cerebral edema, neuroinflammation, vascular toxicity, transient blood-brain barrier disruption
Prognosis: sx generally resolve with steroids
Early-delayed complications of radiation therapy: timing, symptoms, mechanism
Weeks to 6 months: cognitive symptoms, fatigue, headache, nausea and lethargy
Mechanism: transient demyelination
Late-delayed complications of radiation therapy:
Months to years: cognitive decline, possible focal findings
Imaging and path: leukoencephalopathy, tissue necrosis (can mimic tumor recurrence), brain volume loss, secondary tumors, vasculopathy (can cause ischemia or hemorrhage)
Mechanism: direct cytotoxic effects on various neural cells and their progenitors, chronic inflammation and neurovascular injury
Treatment: neurostimulants, shunt
HSV encephalitis population and treatment
Think about in patients with cancer undergoing whole brain radiation
Tx: acyclovir
Complications of chemotherapy: CNS
Acute (reversible) encephalopathy, subacute encephalopathy, chronic encephalopathy, reversible posterior (leuko)encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), multifocal leukoencephalopathy, thrombotic microangiopathy, cerebral infarcts, cortical blindness, optic neuropathy, visual disturbances, psedotumor cerebri, cerebral venous thrombosis, cerebellar dysfunction, seizures, aseptic meningitis
Complications of chemotherapy: PNS
Platinum compounds: cisplatin, oxaloplatin
Vinca alkaloids: vincristine, vinblastine, vindesine
Taxanes: paclitaxel, docetaxel
Bortezomib
Thalidomide
Suramin
CAR-T (tisagenlecleucel, axicabtagene, ciloleucel and brexucabtagene autoleucel) for leukemia and lymphoma CNS effects
Cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity
Immune effector cell-mediated neurotoxicity syndrome, ICANS
3-10 days after administration
Encephalopathy, behavior changes, headaches, tremor, seizures, coma
Cerebral edema
Steroids and supportive care
Tocilizumab: improves cytokine release syndrome but won’t impact neurotoxicity
Which patients with cancer and neurologic symptoms should get steroids?
ALL unless CNS lymphoma is on the differential
Data on phenytoin in SAH for seizure prophylaxis
Links between phenytoin and poor neurologic outcome
No change in rates of seizures, increased complications
What reduces neurologic symptoms associated with vasospasm and improves neurologic outcome after aneurysmal SAH? What is it’s effect on incidence of vasospasm?
Nimodipine (less stroke and poor neurologic outcome)
No decrease in incidence
Which part of triple H therapy increases cerebral blood flow after SAH?
Euvolemic hypertension
Elevated mean velocities versus global elevation with normal Lindegaard ratio meaning
Elevation in mean velocities can be a sign of cerebral vasospasm, however, if a global elevation with a normal Lindegaard ratio is more likely due to cerebral hyperperfusion
EEG findings with cerebral vasospasm after SAH
Decrease in alpha-delta variability
Periodic discharges = worse overall outcome
Acute severe headache, normal neurologic exam
Parimesencephalic SAH (PMSAH)
10% of all SAH
Hemorrhage anterior to midbrain or pons, no extension around brainstem, into supracellar cistern or proximal Sylvian fissure
DSA unlikely to show aneurysm
Good outcome, few complications
Confusion, seizures, hypertension
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome
Hypotension, hyponatremia, increased urine sodium, increased urine output, and low cvp treatment
Cerebral Salt Wasting
Fluid bolus (1st line)
Can use fludricortisone and salt tabs
Normal to hypertensive, hyponatremia, low urine output, increased urine sodium treatment
Free water restriction (1st line)
Salt tabs
Can use tolvaptam (vasopressor receptor antagonists)
How does magnesium inhibit smooth muscle contractions?
Binds to voltage-dependent calcium channels to inhibit smooth muscle contraction
May also inhibit glutamate release
Milrinone mechanisms
Phosphodiesterase III inhibitor
Vasodilation and inotropic properties
Weak data shows some improvement in vasospasm
Intraventricular nimodipine
Reduced delayed cerebral ischemia
Rescue therapy
Hypothermia in delayed cerebral ischemia
Limited data
Decreases cerebral blood flow
Improves outcomes in high grade SAH (limited data)
Diagnosis
Vertebral artery aneurysm
Diagnosis
Anterior spinal artery aneurysm
Diagnosis
Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm (PICA)
Contralateral loss of pain and temp body, ipsilateral loss of pain and temp face, ipsilateral horners, ataxia, hearing loss and facial droop stroke - vessel?
AICA stroke
Lateral pons
Contralateral loss of pain and temp body, ipsilateral loss of pain and temp face, ipsilateral horners, ataxia, dysphagia, hoarseness, decreased gag stroke - vessel?
PICA stroke
Lateral medulla
Contralateral motor deficit, tongue deviation stroke - vessel?
Anterior spinal artery
Medial Medulla
Vertigo, nausea, vomiting, ipsilateral facial numbness, horners syndrome, dysphagia and ataxia stroke vessel
Lateral medullary or Wallenberg syndrome, superior cerebellar artery syndrome
Inferior posterior cerebellar hemisphere, inferior vermis, lateral medulla
PICA
Ipsilateral limb ataxia, vertigo, nystagmus, dsyarthria stroke vessel
Superior cerebellar artery syndrome
Dorsolateral upper brainstem and cerebellar and superior cerebellar peduncle
SCA
Ipsilateral ataxia, hearing loss, Horner’s syndrome, contralateral decreased temp and pinprick stroke vessel
Lateral pontine syndrome
Ipsilateral labrynth, lateral potine tegmentum
AICA
Somnolence, convergent nystagmus, skew deviation, vertical gaze paralysis, some components of proximal basilar/PCA stroke vessel
Top of the basilar syndrome
Midbrain, thalamus and mesial temporal lobes and occipital lobes
Top of basilar artery
Ipsilateral loss of facial sensation, ipsilateral ataxia stroke vessels
Lateral mid-pontine syndrome: Lateral and medial pontine perforators from mid-basilar artery
Ipsilateral ataxia, contralateral weakness, “wrong way” gaze deviation (pons ponders paresis)
Medial mid-pontine syndrome: Lateral and medial pontine perforators from mid-basilar artery
Quadriplegia, horizontal gaze paralysis, bifacial paralysis
May have preservation of vertical eye movements
Locked-in syndrome - bilateral lower pons from proximal basilar artery
Contralateral arm and leg weakness, ipsilateral tongue paralysis
Medial medullary or Dejerine syndrome
Medulla and cervical spinal cord
VA
Arteries for these three
PICA / AICA / SCA
Posterior cerebral vascular territories