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Pneumocephalus
Definition
Pneumocephalus is defined as an asymptomatic intracranial collection of air, commonly occurring after craniotomy or cranial burr hole. In a retrospective study, the incidence of intracranial air collection varied from 73% in park-bench position, 57% in prone position, and 100% in sitting position. Clinical data on the retrospective review of CT scans indicate that all patients have pneumocephalus in the first 2 days after a supratentorial craniotomy.
Variant
Occasionally, high pressure may build up in the air cavity, which results in the development of “tension pneumocephalus,” or “inverted pop-up bottle” syndrome. Tension pneumocephalus is, therefore, air in the intracranial compartment that is under pressure and requires immediate evacuation.
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