Pituitary apoplexy presenting as isolated third cranial nerve palsy: case series.

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is caused by a sudden increase in pressure in the pituitary region due to acute hemorrhage, infarction or necrosis. PA can also be caused by restricting blood supply to the nerve due to compression of the internal carotid artery. Acute third cranial nerve palsy (third CN) secondary to PA is a rare medical emergency caused by bleeding within a growing mass within the sella turcica. We presented two cases of PA with isolated third CN palsy treated with transsphenoidal pituitary decompression. PA is therefore an important differential diagnosis to consider in patients with isolated third nerve palsy. The prognosis for isolated third nerve palsy in PA appeared successful, with variable recovery from medical and surgical intervention.

Mean Evan's Index among Patients with Normal Computed Tomography Scan visiting Radiology Department in a Tertiary Care Centre of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Evan's index is useful to objectively see if ventricles size is abnormal especially in borderline cases of hydrocephalus. Studying ventricular size in CT scan is essential in every pathology of the brain. Use of objective parameters to define hydrocephalus helps us not only to diagnose a case but also follow up the case following treatment. The aim of this study was to find out the mean even index among patients visiting the department of radiology of a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital from 1st january 2020 to 31st December 2020. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of Upendra Devkota Memorial Neurological and Allied Sciences (reference number: 116/2021). Computed tomography scans were done for various reasons in the hospital over a one year period and reported normal by the radiologists were included in the study. Convenient sampling was done. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with mean and standard deviation for continuous data. RESULTS: In this study, among the 216 cases, the mean Evan's index was found to be 0.20±0.04. CONCLUSIONS: The mean evan's index in our study population was lower than the normal cut-off value.

Giant Cerebral Tuberculoma Masquerading as Malignant Brain Tumor - A Report of Two Cases.

Giant cerebral tuberculoma is an uncommon but serious form of tuberculosis. We report two patients who had a single, large lesion on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Both patients underwent neurosurgery for the excision of the mass lesion as neuroimaging findings were suggestive of a brain tumor. Tuberculoma was later diagnosed on histopathological examination. We want to highlight that cerebral tuberculomas can mimic malignant brain tumors, as the clinical, laboratory, and radiologic features of cerebral tuberculomas are nonspecific.

Histopathological Spectrum of Central Nervous System Tumors: an Experience at a Hospital in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: More than half of Central Nervous System tumors are benign; however, they can cause substantial morbidity. The classification of central nervous system is vital for their varied outcomes and management. The objective of this study is to provide the histopathological spectrum of central nervous system tumors in a central hospital in Nepal. METHODS: The present study is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at Department of Pathology, Kathmandu Model Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal from January 2010 to December 2017 of 162 cases of clinically diagnosed cases of central nervous system tumors. All patients were classified according to the World Health Organization classification of central nervous system tumors. RESULTS: Nine of these162 patients did not have any tumor. The most common categories of tumors were astrocytic and oligodendroglial tumors (39.2%), meningiomas (21.5%), cranial and para spinal tumors (15%), tumors of sellar region including pituitary adenoma (4.5%), and metastatic tumors (3.2%). Glioblastoma(51.6%) and diffuse astrocytoma (21.6%) were the most common astrocytic and oligodendroglial tumors. The most common site of tumors in the brain was frontal (14.37%) followed by temporal (10.45%) region in the brain and dorsal region in spine. CONCLUSIONS: This study gives the current scenario of the epidemiology and clinicohistopathological aspects of different brain tumors as encountered in a tertiary level hospital in Kathmandu.

Outcome of transforaminal epidural steroid injection for lumbar radiculopathy: initial three-year experience at Upendra Devkota Memorial-National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of low back pain with radiculopathy in general population varies from 9.9% to 25%, which can be due to bony narrowing of the lateral recess or due to prolapsed intervertebral disc. Transforaminal epidural injection of a mixture of long-acting anaesthetic (bupivacaine) and particulate steroids (depomedrol) has been a treatment modality in patients not responding to initial physiotherapy and neuropathic pain medications. METHODS: To analyze the effectiveness of transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) in the treatment of low back pain with radiculopathy, a retrospective case series evaluating the records of patients that received TFESI (1 mL 0.5% bupivacaine +1 ml/40 mg depomedrol) under C-arm guidance from January 2015 to December 2018 (3 years) at Upendra Devkota Memorial-National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences (UDM-NINAS), their lumbo-sacral MRI and the pre-procedure, 1-week and 3-month numeric pain rating scale, were analyzed. Successful treatment (reduction of pain scale by more than 50% of baseline at 3 months) in the patients with bony recess stenosis and those with prolapsed intervertebral disc was compared. RESULTS: Out of 67 patients that received TFESI, 35 (52.23%) could be followed up. The mean age was 55.8 ± 14.39 years and 51.3% were females. 68.57% had L5 and 20% had S1 radiculopathy. Bony recess stenosis was seen in the aged 40% and PIVD was the cause of radiculopathy in 60%. The median duration of radicular pain prior to intervention was 3 months. TFESI was effective as the mean numeric pain scale before injection was 8.97 ± 1.32 which reduced to 3.91 ± 3.23 (paired t test p value < 0.001) at 1 week post injection and 3.23 ± 3.34 (paired t test p value < 0.001) at 3 months post injection. Twenty-six of the 35 patients (75.29%) had more than 50% pain relief compared to baseline at 3 months and were satisfied. Nine patients continued to have pain; however, only one required a surgical intervention. The effectiveness of TFESI was not significantly different in different ages (Fisher's exact test p value 0.182) and in different anatomic levels (Fisher's exact test p value 0.241). Six out of eight patients with bony recess stenosis benefited as compared to 14 out of 19 patients with PIVD, though it was not statistically significant (Fischer's exact test p value 0.688). There were no adverse events recorded. CONCLUSION: TFESI is a safe and efficacious treatment modality in patients with radicular low back pain especially in aged patients in whom surgery under general anaesthesia is not free from risk.

Role of MR Morphology and Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in the Evaluation of Meningiomas: Radio-Pathologic Correlation.

INTRODUCTION: Preoperative differentiation of benign, atypical and malignant meningiomas would significantly help in surgical planning and treatment. The aim of this study is to look at radio-morphologic behavior of various histopathological types and grades of meningiomas and their diffusion characteristics. METHODS: We performed an analytical cross-sectional study including all patients operated on for meningiomas at our hospital during January 2016 to July 2018. We studied 38 meningiomas in 38 patients aged 14 to 73 years old. All patients underwent MRI prior to surgery, including diffusion-weighted sequences, in a 1.5T scanner. Signal intensity in T2-weighted images, diffusion-weighted images (b=0, 90 and 1,000), and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient maps within the tumors and in the normal parietal white matter as a reference were evaluated. In the histological study, cellularity, proliferation index, histological grade, and cerebral invasion were evaluated. RESULTS: There was female predilection with male:female ratio of 1:2.4. Most meningiomas were supratentorial with most common origin being parafalcine and convexity. Of the 38 meningiomas, 31 were WHO grade I, 6 were WHO grade II (atypical) and one was WHO grade III (anaplastic). Among various tumors' behaviors, incomplete CSF cleft, pial invasion and parenchymal invasion were significantly high in high-grade tumors. Similarly, tumors showing pial invasion, breached tumor-brain interface, no capsular enhancement and parenchyma invasion showed significantly low NADC. Mean ADC value was 0.722±7.7x10-3 mm2/s (normalized ADC 0.9±0.1) in the atypical group and 0.876±24.56x10-3 mm2/s (normalized ADC 1.11±0.31) in the typical group. No statistically significant differences of ADC/NADC were found between histologic subtypes. Two subtypes of typical meningiomas, metaplastic and angiomatous meningioma had the highest values in the ADC maps. CONCLUSIONS: MR morphology like pial invasion, breached tumors brain interface, parenchymal invasion can predict aggressiveness and atypical nature of meningiomas. Meningioma shows moderately restricted diffusion. The signal on the ADC map is associated with tumors cellularity and aggressiveness suggesting its usefulness for predicting the histological grade.

Venture in 101 Cranial Punctures: A Comparative Study between Frame-based versus Frameless Biopsy of 101 Intracranial Space Occupying Lesion.

BACKGROUND: Presumptive diagnosis based solely on the clinical picture and imaging is not sufficient to provide appropriate treatment with certainty and hence histopathological confirmation of intracranial space occupying lesion (ICSOL) is essential. Needle biopsy via stereotactic frame-based or frameless neuronavigation technique is efficient procedure. The objective of this study is to compare their accuracy and efficacy and safety. METHODS: This is a retrospective comparative study conducted among 101 biopsies of ICSOL. Patients data were retrieved from medical record. Data were analyzed in SPSS ver. 20. P value of <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Out of 101 patients, Frame-based stereotactic biopsy was done among 55 patients (54.4%) while 46 patients (45.6%) underwent frameless stealth neuronavigation guided biopsy. Male to female ration was 2.1:1. Age ranged from 5 to 82 years. 54.5% (55 patients) have deeper location of tumor while 45.5% (46 patients) have lobar location of tumor. Frontal (16.8%) and Thalamic (13.8%) were the common site. Mean size of tumor was 3.09±0.85cms. There was statistically significant difference in operative duration among study groups. Overall Diagnostic yield was 89.1%. Glioma was the most common (50.5%) diagnosis. Glioblastoma WHO Grade IV was 37.6% followed by lymphoma (12.8%). CONCLUSION: Needle biopsy via stereotactic frame-based or neuronavigation frameless technique is a safe and efficient procedure having high diagnostic yield. Reasons for negative biopsy could be missed target or retrieval of gliotic tissue.

Transcranial doppler ultrasonography cerebral blood flow dynamics study of neurosurgical patients in peri-agonal period with fixed dilated or non-reacting pupils.

INTRODUCTION: Fixed dilated and unreactive pupils are a harbinger of imminent death in neurosurgical patients, signifying that the brainstem is not functioning. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography is a noninvasive, bedside method of determining the flow velocities in the basal cerebral arteries, used extensively in various neurosurgical conditions. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study the cerebral blood flow dynamics of neurosurgical patients in peri-agonal period with fixed dilated or non reacting pupils using TCD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Repeated TCD studies were done in patients with fixed dilated or unreactive pupils in a tertiary care, neurosurgical hospital over a year, recording the various waveforms and indices as Pulsatility Index (PI), Resistivity Index, Peak systolic flow velocity (PSV), End diastolic flow velocity (EDV), Mean cerebral blood flow velocity (MCBFV) of their middle cerebral artery in their peri-agonal period. The subsequent change in the indices as the patients died or improved was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 104 TCD studies were done on 57 patients. Mean initial PI and MCBFV in the patients that died were 1.52 ± 0.76 and 28.55 ± 14.92 cm/sec respectively; and in the patients that showed neurosurgical recovery was 1.11 ± 0.28 and 36.52 ± 8.56 cm/sec respectively. Four out of 57 patients showed neurosurgical recovery and all of them had an initial PI less than 1.4 and they showed decrement in PI and increment in MCBFV on subsequent TCD study. The specificity and positive predictive value of the TCD waveform in predicting death was 100%, however, it had low sensitivity (47.17%) and negative predictive value (12.5%). CONCLUSION: The various indices and waveforms of TCD can be useful in assessing the cerebral blood flow dynamics in patients with various traumatic and non-traumatic ailments in the peri-agonal period; and hence help in their management as well as in the confirmation of brainstem death.

Renal impairment in stroke patients: A comparison between the haemorrhagic and ischemic variants.

Background: Renal impairment is regularly seen in hospitalized stroke patients, affecting the outcome of patients, as well as causing difficulties in their management. A prospective cohort study was conducted to assess the trend of renal function in hospitalized ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke patients. The incidence of renal impairment in these subgroups, the contributing factors and the need for renal replacement in renal impaired patients was evaluated. Methods: Alternate day renal function testing was performed in hospitalized stroke patients. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (e-GFR) was calculated and the trend of renal function in the two stroke subgroups (haemorrhagic and ischemic) was assessed, with renal impairment defined as e-GFR < 60mL/ minute per 1.73m 2. Results: Among 52 patients, 25 had haemorrhagic stroke (mean age 59.81 ± 14.67) and 27 had ischemic stroke (mean age 56.12 ± 13.08). The mean e-GFR (mL/minute per 1.732m 2) at admission in the haemorrhagic stroke subgroup was 64.79 ± 25.85 compared to 86.04 ± 26.09 in the ischemic stroke subgroup (p=0.005). Sixteen out of 25 (64%) patients in the haemorrhagic stroke subgroup and 9 out of 27 (33.3%) patients in the ischemic subgroup developed renal impairment (p=0.027). The location of the bleed (p=0.8), volume of hematoma (p=0.966) and surgical intervention (p=0.4) did not predispose the patients to renal impairment. One out of 16 patients with haemorrhagic stroke (who eventually died), and 2 out of 9 patients with ischemic stroke required renal replacement. Conclusion: Renal impairment is commonly seen in stroke patients, more so in patients who suffered haemorrhagic strokes.  The impairment, however, is transient and rarely requires renal replacement therapy.

Case Report: Sciatic nerve schwannoma - a rare cause of sciatica.

Herein we report a rare case of a sciatic nerve schwannoma causing sciatica in a 69-year-old female. Sciatic nerve schwannoma is a rare entity. It should always be considered as a possible cause of sciatica in patients that present with symptoms of sciatica with no prolapsed disc in the lumbar spine and a negative crossed straight leg raise test. Timely diagnosis and complete excision of the lesion leads to complete resolution of the symptoms of such patients.

Excision of an anterior intradural arachnoid cyst of the cervical spine through central corpectomy approach.

Anterior cervical intradural arachnoid cyst is a rare entity which has been mostly approached posteriorly, commonly resulting in incomplete resection. Incomplete resection is associated with recurrence; hence, we describe the anterior central corpectomy approach with complete neurologic recovery in a twenty year old with an anterior cervical intradural arachnoid cyst in front of the third and fourth cervical vertebra, who had presented with spastic quadriparesis.

The question of double identity / La cuestión de la doble identidad

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Feasibility and efficacy of thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke: A study from National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The number of stroke patients receiving recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), also known as Alteplase, in the developing world is extremely low. We aim to study the feasibility and efficacy of thrombolysis for the 1(st) time in our country. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study (July 2012-August 2015), acute ischemic stroke patients who were thrombolyzed within 3 h of stroke onset were included. Their demographic profiles, clinical profiles, risk factors, type of thrombolytic used, and outcomes were systematically recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 9 patients were thrombolyzed. The mean time from the onset of stroke symptoms to first dose of rt-PA (onset to treatment) was 1.2 h. Six patients had good neurological outcome as measured by modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The median mRS at discharge was 3. Thrombolysis-related post treatment complication was noted in 44.4%, of which nonfatal intracranial bleed occurred only in 2 patients (22.2%). None of the patients receiving intravenous tenecteplase had thrombolysis-related complications, and none of the patients had fatal intracranial bleed. CONCLUSION: This study clearly demonstrates the beginning of a feasible and effective thrombolysis in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in Nepal.

Rapid recovery following fulminant meningococcemia complicated by myocarditis in a 15-year-old Nepalese girl: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Fulminant meningococcemia is a relatively rare life-threatening disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis. The clinical presentation is varied, but, when associated with myocarditis, it carries a particularly poor prognosis. We report a case of a patient with fulminant meningococcemia who subsequently developed severe myocardial dysfunction and successfully recovered within a period of 14 days of hospitalization. CASE PRESENTATION: A 15-year-old girl presented with headache, fever, body ache, and diarrhea for 1 day, and ecchymotic rash over her body for 4 hours. Blood cultures confirmed infection with N. meningitidis. After 6 days in the hospital, the patient developed anasarca, elevated jugular venous pressure, and shock. The patient was managed with intravenous ceftriaxone and captopril. Over the next 3 days the patient rapidly improved and started walking. CONCLUSION: Meningococcemia complicated by myocarditis has an extremely poor prognosis with high mortality. Our case suggests that recovery from a severe myocardial dysfunction can occur rapidly within a few days. Prompt recognition and management in this case might have contributed to the patient's rapid recovery from myocarditis.