Citation

Reisner A, Hayes LL, Holland CM, Wrubel DM, Kebriaei MA, Geller RJ, Baum GR, Chern JJ. J. Neurosurg. Pediatr. 2015; 16(6): 752-757.

Affiliation

Pediatric Neurosurgical Associates, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia; and.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Association of Neurological Surgeons)

DOI

10.3171/2015.4.PEDS14667

PMID

26339960

Abstract

In environments in which opioids are increasingly abused for recreation, children are becoming more at risk for both accidental and nonaccidental intoxication. In toxic doses, opioids can cause potentially lethal acute leukoencephalopathy, which has a predilection for the cerebellum in young children. The authors present the case of a 2-year-old girl who suffered an accidental opioid overdose, presenting with altered mental status requiring cardiorespiratory support. She required emergency posterior fossa decompression, partial cerebellectomy, and CSF drainage due to cerebellar edema compressing the fourth ventricle. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of surgical decompression used to treat cerebellar edema associated with opioid overdose in a child.

Language: en