Neuroendoscopic and histopathological correlation in 13 cases of cystic fluid filled brain tumours.

Neuroendoscopical images of fluid-filled cavity walls within encephalic tumours in thirteen adult patients were correlated with histopathology results of samples harvested during surgery. Extensive vascular proliferation, with mesh-like formations in a 3D pattern, as well as onionskin appearance, were observed in malignant tumours, as opposed to normal or slightly increased vascular pattern, observed in benign neoplasms. Medical facilities lacking sufficient technical resources where limited pathologist experience is expected, and can be associated with intraoperative histological misdiagnosis. Detailed high quality endoscopical observations of tumour cavity walls may be helpful to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions, and therefore, immediate surgical decisions can be made.

Mexican Cervical Cancer Screening Study II: 6-month and 2-year follow-up of HR-HPV women treated with cryotherapy in a low-resource setting.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and tolerance of cryotherapy in a visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) triage protocol after primary human papillomavirus (HPV) screening in a low-resource setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This continuous series conducted over 2 years enrolled nonpregnant, high-risk HPV (HR-HPV)-positive women between the ages of 30 and 50 years, who resided in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, and had a history of no Pap smear screening or knowledge of Pap smear results within the last 3 years. These women were initially enrolled in the Mexican Cervical Cancer Screening Study II (MECCS II) trial and were treated with cryotherapy after VIA triage. They subsequently followed up at 6 months and 2 years for repeat VIA, colposcopy, and biopsy. RESULTS: A total of 291 women were treated with cryotherapy, of whom 226 (78%) followed up at 6 months. Of these 226 women, 153 (68%) were HR-HPV-negative; there were no findings of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN2) or worse. The remaining 73 women (32%) were HR-HPV-positive; of these women, 2 had CIN2 and 3 had CIN3. Only 137 women followed up at 2 years. Of these 137 women, 116 were HR-HPV-negative and 21 were HR-HPV-positive. Of the 21 women positive for HR-HPV, 9 had negative biopsy results, 11 had CIN1, and 1 had no biopsy. The clearance rate of HR-HPV was 83% (95% confidence interval: 0.78-0.87). There were no biopsy findings of CIN2 or worse at 2 years. Before cryotherapy, of the 226 women, 15 (6.6%) were positive for endocervical curettage (ECC) and 5 (2.2%) were referred for surgical management. Of these 15 ECC-positive women, 10 (67%) followed up at 6 months and it was shown that no patient was ECC positive at that time point. Moreover, of the 15 ECC-positive women, 11 (73%) followed up at 2 years and it was shown that no patient was ECC positive at that time point. In our study, VIA had a false-positive rate of 5%. CONCLUSIONS: Cryotherapy was an effective, acceptable, and well-tolerated means of treating cervical dysplasia in a low-resource setting.

Primary cervical cancer screening and triage using an mRNA human papillomavirus assay and visual inspection.

OBJECTIVE: Mexican Cervical Cancer Screening Study II (MECCS II) seeks to develop a highly sensitive and highly specific screening program able to be adapted to all socioeconomic levels in Mexico. The objectives of MECCS II are (1) to compare the sensitivity and specificity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 3 or cancer of self-collected vaginal specimens tested for high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) by APTIMA with those tested for HR-HPV by Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2); and (2) determine the efficacy of cryotherapy in the treatment of HR-HPV-positive and acetic acid-aided visual inspection (VIA)-positive and -negative women after VIA triage. METHODS: The study was conducted in rural Mexico. Women aged 30 to 50 years, nonpregnant, with no history of hysterectomy or pelvic irradiation and varied histories of screening, participated. A direct endocervical sample was tested for cytology, HC2, and APTIMA assay (AHPV). Subjects positive on any test were recalled for triage VIA, biopsies, and immediate cryotherapy. Tests were compared using McNemar test. RESULTS: Two thousand forty-nine patients have complete results. Mean age of the patients was 39.2 years; 7.7% presented with ≥atypical squamous cells of uncertain significance (ASCUS), 1.8% ≥low-grade squamous intraepithelial neoplasia, and 0.5% ≥high-grade squamous intraepithelial neoplasia. Two percent of patients had ≥CIN2, and 0.78% had ≥CIN3 (including 2 with invasive disease). The sensitivity of ThinPrep (>ASCUS), HC2, and AHPV for >CIN3 for direct endocervical collection was 87.5%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The specificity of ThinPrep (>ASCUS), HC2, and AHPV for >CIN3 was 94.1%, 92.2%, and 93.5%, respectively. Specificities of HC2 and AHPV differed significantly. The overall percentage of agreement among HPV assays (HC2 vs APTIMA) is 97%. Four hundred sixty-nine women returned for VIA. Two hundred ninety-one women were treated with cryotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The specificity of the APTIMA assay along with high sensitivity is an advantage for primary screening. Follow-up evaluation will be important to determine the true impact of potential undertreatment in the screening algorithm. Self-sampling applications are explored.

Endoscopic evidence of ventricular and cisternal inflammatory changes after intraoperative cysticercal rupture during endoscopic third-ventriculostomy removal.

Two patients who suffered recurrent hydrocephalus after cysticercal removal by means of endoscopic transventricular (ETV) approach are presented. Severe inflammatory lesions within the ventricular system and basal cisterns, with a patent third-ventriculostomy were demonstrated during a second endoscopic observation. Mandatory shunting with prolonged steroid therapy may be indicated after intraoperative cysticercal rupture after ETV removal, as showed by sequential endoscopic observations.

The impact of neuroendoscopy in the emergency setting--a retrospective study of imaging, intraoperative findings, and surgical outcome in 55 patients.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether neuroendoscopy is an improved and effective diagnostic as well as therapeutic tool in the emergency setting compared with neuroimaging studies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-two preoperative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) scans from 55 adult patients admitted in the emergency ward were compared with equal number of neuroendoscopy observations by independent observers, who included cases of raised intracranial pressure related to hydrocephalus, shunt dysfunction, intracranial cysts, brain tumours, subdural effusions, etc. RESULTS: According to the results obtained, three groups were formed. Postoperative findings matched CT/MR images in 38.7% of all the procedures (Group 1). In 25.8%, neuroimages were different from endoscopy findings, nevertheless the differences did not justify any modification in the original surgical approach (Group 2). Finally, differences between endoscopical and preoperative studies in 34.48% of the procedures did justify modifications in the surgical plan (Group 3). Extensive fibrosis within the ventricular system associated with poor anatomic landmark visibility was found to be the main cause of surgical modification in the majority of these cases. CONCLUSIONS: Usefulness of neuroendoscopy to increase the accuracy of intraoperative diagnosis, and therefore modify the surgical procedure in an emergency setting, is stressed.

Arteritis de Takayasu con aneurisma ventricular gigante calcificado: presentación de un caso / Takayasu's arteritis with calcified giant ventricular aneurysm: report of a case

Aunque la Arteritis de Takayasu (AT) fue inicialmente descrita con tendencia al compromiso del cayado aortico y sus ramas principales, más tarde se demostraron lesiones a otros niveles en los que se incluían las arterias coronarias, encontrando algunos casos con infarto del miocárdio. Aunque es frecuente encontrar cardiopatía en los pacientes con AT, habitualmente ésta es atribuida a varios factores como hipertensión arterial sistémica y/o pulmonar, insuficiencia valvular aórtica e insuficiencia mitral organomuscular, además de la coronariopatía. Es poco lo que se conoce en la actualidad sobre el daño miocárdico directo a consecuencia de la enfermedad, y solo se ha descrito un caso con AT y miocarditis granulomatosa. Presentamos el caso de una mujer joven con AT y un aneurisma ventricular gigante calcificado, discutiendo las posibilidades implicadas en la génesis de éste, con especial enfasis en la afección coronaria y sin descartar por completo la posibilidad de daño miocárdico directo