Subdural empyema future or investigational therapies

Subdural empyema, also referred to as subdural abscess, pachymeningitis interna and circumscript meningitis, is a life-threatening infection.^[1] It consists of a localised collection of purulent material, usually unilateral, between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater and accounts for about 15-22% of the reported focal intracranial infections. The empyema may develop intracranially (about 95%) or in the spinal canal (about 5%), and in both cases, it constitutes a medical and neurosurgical emergency.^[2]

Currently there are diagnostic and therapeutical procedures being studied or tested in order to, not only improve the diagnosis of subdural empyema, but also to treat it, in the less invasive way possible:

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Stereotactic Surgery – has been used successfully in draining an empyema involving the tentorium cerebelli, in a more precise way than the burr hole procedure and less invasively that the craniotomy. ^[2]

• Hollow screws – have been supported by specialists, for the diagnosis and treatment os subdural empyema, particularly in situations when CT and MRI studies are inconclusive. ^[3][4]

Template:WH Template:WS