Tuberculous ventriculitis: A rare complication of central nervous system tuberculosis

Tuberculous ventriculitis is an inflammatory infection of the ventricular system of the brain, and is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We herein present the case of an immunocompromised patient with brain tuberculomas who developed ventriculitis during treatment. The patient was successfully treated with a high dose of steroid, long-term antituberculosis drugs, and aggressive supportive care

Accidental pneumatic nail gun brain injury in a teenager: A case report and review of the literature

Background: Pneumatic nail gun brain injury has been increasing in recent years. This injury may accidentally occur by pneumatic nail gun devices or after a suicide attempt. Most pediatric patients develop nail gun brain injury after an accidental event. Case description: We presented a 16-year-old teenager with an accidental brain injury caused by a pneumatic nail gun. In our patient, a six-cm-nail penetrated the right parietal lobe obliquely from the left parietal region. The patient underwent a craniotomy, and the nail was removed from his head. During the operation, mild hemorrhages developed on the lateral wall of the sagittal sinus, which was controlled using gel foaming. The patient was discharged with mild hemiparesis in his right lower limb. Conclusion: In most patients, craniotomy is the preferred technique for removing the nail after a nail gun brain injury. Minimally invasive surgery may be a feasible choice in selected patients for whom the end of the nail is available without other brain injuries such as vascular damage, bone fracture, or decreased level of consciousness

Ethological Factors of Chronic Back Pain in MRI of a Group of Military Personnel

Background and Aim: Chronic low back pain is one of the most common debilitating occupational diseases. It seems that the frequency of this type of back pain is increasing, especially among young military staff. The aim of this study was to evaluate the causes of chronic low back pain according to interpretation of MRI reports in military personnel of army land forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the data of military personnel with chronic low back pain, referring to the Neurosurgery Council of Khanevadeh Hospital, Tehran in 2016 were extracted. The information included demographic and occupational characteristics of the patients, clinical findings, and MRI reports. We used chi-square and Fischer exact tests for data analysis at the significance level of 95%. Results: 326 male military personnel with chronic low back pain were evaluated. The mean age of the subjects was 37.3 ± 0.6 years. The most common MRI finding was disc herniation which was detected in 174 cases (53.3%). low back pain was most frequent in the combat branch, which included 114 cases (34.9%). There was no statistically significant correlation between MRI findings and types of military branches (P=0.071). The highest frequency of disc herniation belonged to the patients between 20 and 29 years of age (p=0.002) and the highest frequency of degenerative changes was seen in the patients over 50 years of age (p=0.005). Conclusion: The most important finding of this study was the low mean age of the patients with chronic low back pain who were in their active working years. We suggest revision of the trend of periodic examinations of military personnel, ergonomics of the work environment and military training