Incidence and risk factors of cerebrospinal fluid leakage related complications after spinal intradural tumor resection.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage is a common and serious complication of spinal surgery, particularly after intradural tumor resection. CSF leakage can lead to debilitating headaches, neurological deficits, and other symptoms, with an incidence rate of 0.3%-16%. This study aimed to investigate the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of CSF-related complications in patients who underwent spinal intradural tumor surgery. This was a retrospective cohort study including 102 patients who underwent resection of intradural tumors, including ependymomas, astrocytomas, and meningiomas. Data were collected, including patient demographics, surgical details, and postoperative outcomes. The extent of CSF accumulation was evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Statistical analyses were performed to identify risk factors for symptomatic CSF leakage. Postoperative CSF accumulation was observed in 94.1% of patients. Among them, 28.1% experienced symptomatic complications, such as severe headache (20.8%), unexplained fever (6.3%), and CSF leakage (3.1%). Patients with larger CSF accumulation, particularly subcutaneous accumulation, had a significantly higher incidence of symptomatic complications, with the highest rate observed in subfascial accumulation cases (P = 0.0002). Symptomatic patients did not show significant differences in age, sex, surgical level, drainage duration, or blood loss compared to asymptomatic patients. Additionally, the use of artificial dura mater did not significantly affect symptomatic outcomes. Predicting the occurrence of symptoms based on preoperative and surgical factors remains challenging. However, patients with subfascial CSF accumulation were more likely to develop symptoms, highlighting the necessity of confirming CSF accumulation using MRI for appropriate postoperative management.