Case of a WHO Grade II Atypical Meningioma in a 16-Year-Old Female.

Meningiomas have a high frequency of occurrence as primary intracranial tumors. We report the case of a 16-year-old female who presented with a three-week history of persistent headache, vomiting, and photophobia. Imaging studies revealed the presence of a meningioma in the right occipital lobe of the brain. The patient underwent surgical resection, and histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of an atypical WHO grade 2 meningioma. The patient experienced a significant improvement in her symptoms postoperatively and had no evidence of recurrence on follow-up imaging. This case highlights the importance of considering meningioma in the differential diagnosis of relatively young patients presenting with chronic headaches, and the favorable prognosis associated with atypical WHO grade 2 meningiomas following complete surgical resection.

The Frequency of Different Risk Factors for Lower Back Pain in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Background and purpose Lower back pain is an extremely common health problem and causes more global disability than any other condition. Moreover, it causes an enormous economic burden in both developed and developing countries. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of different risk factors for lower back pain in a tertiary care centre in Islamabad. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Shifa International Hospital's neurosurgery and neurology outpatient department from September 2016 to February 2017. A total of 375 patients with lower back pain were interviewed regarding risk factors. Results Among the 375 patients, the majority were men (51.7%, n = 194). The mean patient age was 42.05 ± 15.35 years (mean ± standard deviation); most of the patients belonged to the 21- to 40-year-old age group (48%, n = 180). The majority (78.4%) had chronic back pain. Lower back pain was found to be predominant in housewives (30.1%, n = 113), followed by those with office jobs (18.1%, n = 68), private jobs (i.e., truck drivers, shopkeepers) (14.7%, n = 55), and healthcare workers (12.3%, n = 46). In terms of work schedule, 51.2% of patients reported working around 41-50 hours per week. The major risk factors identified were lack of exercise (76.3%, n = 286), use of soft foam mattress (52.0%, n = 195), prolonged sitting (50.4%, n = 189), lifting heavy weight (48.5%, n = 182), bending or twisting (41.6%, n = 156), sleep disorder (41.6%, n = 156), anxiety (39.5%, n = 148), hypertension (32.3%, n = 121), and depression (28.8%, n = 108). Conclusions Our study concludes that lower back pain is a multifactorial phenomenon. Age, gender, profession, working hours, comorbid conditions, trauma, lifestyle, and stresses in life all play a role in its causation. Increasing physical activity and modifying lifestyle are suggested to prevent this major health issue.