Arun Kumar Srivastava

Primary melanocytic tumors of the central nervous system: A neuroradiological and clinicopathological study of five cases and brief review of literature

Primary melanocytic tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) are uncommon lesions. These lesions arise from the melanocytes located within leptomeninges and include diffuse melanocytosis and meningeal melanomatosis (seen in neurocutaneous melanosis), melanocytoma, and malignant melanoma. To study, the clinical course, neuroradiological features, morphology and immunohistochemistry of primary melanocytic tumor of CNS. Demographic, clinical and surgico-pathologic findings of five patients with melanocytic tumors seen between 1996 and 2003 were studied. In this study, five cases of primary melanocytic tumors have been reported: four cases of malignant melanoma and one case of melanocytoma. Three of the 5 cases were intracranial and 2 were spinal. The mean age in the present study was 26 years. Presenting features varied according to the location. Primary melanocytic tumor of CNS are rare. Whenever possible, complete surgical excision is the best treatment.

A clinicopathological, immunohistochemical and neuroradiological study of eight patients with central neurocytoma

Central neurocytomas are low-grade tumors of neuronal origin located in the lateral ventricle that present predominantly with raised intracranial pressure. In this retrospective study, we investigated the clinical, radiological, histopathological and immunohistochemical features of eight patients (seven males and one female; age range 16-61 years; mean=35.1 years) with neurocytoma. Raised intracranial pressure was the most common presenting feature. In addition, one patient presented with marked visual deterioration and one presented with a visual field defect. All lesions were located in the lateral ventricle (right lateral ventricle: four patients, left lateral ventricle: three patients, both ventricles: one patients). Radiology showed marked intratumoral calcification in two patients. Total microsurgical excision was achieved in seven patients. Histopathology showed sheets of monotonously small-to-medium-sized neoplastic cells with uniform round-to-oval nuclei and inconspicuous nucleoli. Immunohistochemistry was positive for synaptophysin and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in all tumors, and glial fibrillary acidic protein was focally positive in two patients. One patient had lipomatous differentiation within the tumor. No recurrence was noted in any of our patients until the last follow-up; however, there were two deaths in our series.

Frontal sinus mucocele with orbital complications: Management by varied surgical approaches

A mucocele of a para-nasal sinus is an accumulation of mucoid secretion and desqua-mated epithelium within the sinus with distension of its walls and is regarded as a cyst like expansile and destructive lesion. If the cyst invades the adjacent orbit and continues to expand within the orbital cavity, the mass may mimic the behavior of many benign growths primary in the orbit. The frontal sinus is most commonly involved, whereas sphenoid, ethmoid, and maxillary mucoceles are rare. Floor of frontal sinus is shared with the superior orbital wall which explains the early displacement of orbit in enlarging frontal mucoceles. Frontal sinus mucoceles are prone to recurrences if not managed adequately. Here, we are evaluating different approaches used to manage various stages of frontal mucoceles which presented to us with orbital complications. Three cases of frontal sinus mucocele are discussed which presented to our OPD with different clinical symptoms and all cases were managed by different surgical approaches according to their severity. We also concluded that it is prudent to collaborate with the neurosurgeons for adequate management of such complex mucoceles by a craniotomy approach.

Surgical management of Pott's disease of the spine in pediatric patients: A single surgeon's experience of 8 years in a tertiary care center

Study Design: A retrospective, case study of 64 pediatric patients who underwent spinal surgery for Potts spine and have minimum 6 months follow-up. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical management and outcome of 64 pediatric Potts spine cases operated by single surgeon over last 8 years, with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. The prognostic significance and the outcome of the demographic factors, location of the disease, and its surgical approach were also evaluated in these patients. Materials and Methods: The data collected retrospectively from the institutes record case sheets of the 64 pediatric patients with Potts disease of the spine, operated between 2002 and 2010 in the Department of Neurosurgery, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow, were analyzed. The study population consisted of 40 male and 24 female pediatric patients. Clinical findings included back pain, paraparesis, kyphosis, fever, sensory disturbance, and bowel and bladder dysfunction. Results: The most common region of Potts disease was the thoracic region [21/64 (33%)] followed by craniovertebral junction (CVJ) [17/64 (27%)]. At presentation, all of the patients had neurological features of spinal cord compression. All patients were treated with antituberculous chemotherapy which was continued after the surgical intervention also. Transthoracic surgical approach [18/64 (28%)] was the most frequently required surgery followed by transoral decompression with posterior fusion [12/64 (19%)] depending on the site of disease and compression of neuraxis. Initially, more than two-third of the patients were in poor grade of Kumar and Kalra scoring as well as modified Kumar and Kalra scoring, which were reduced to about one fifth after the surgical intervention, and the outcome was good as the condition of 46 patients (72%) improved significantly. Conclusion: Currently, treatment of spinal tubercular infections requires a multidisciplinary team that includes infectious diseases experts, neuroradiologists, and spine surgeons. The key to successful management is early detection and timely and judicious surgical intervention, the decision of which needs to be taken in view of clinicoradiological compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, age of the patient and responsiveness of ATT.

Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of tubercular ventriculitis: An under-recognized complication of tubercular meningitis☆ , ☆☆

BACKGROUND Ventriculitis also referred as ependymitis or ventricular empyema is a known complication of pyogenic meningitis. Despite high incidence of tubercular meningitis in developing countries, there are hardly any reports of tubercular ventriculitis. METHODS Five patients (four males and one female) of tubercular ventriculitis were retrospectively identified from December 2007 to August 2013. Their clinical features, cranial MRI characteristics, treatment offered, and outcome were reviewed. RESULTS The median age of 5 patients was 29 years (range 15 to 64 years). Two patients had preceding pulmonary/pleural tuberculosis and one had Potts spine. One patient had multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. All five patients had papilledema, four had seizures, two had hemiparesis, and two had vision loss. On cranial MRI all patients showed contrast enhancement of ependymal wall of lateral/fourth ventricle with restricted diffusion and hydrocephalus; three showed intra-ventricular septations with sequestered ventricles, and two had ventricular sludge. Magnetization transfer (MT) images were available in only two patients. Both showed hyperintense epedymal wall on MT images. Four patients required ventriculo-peritoneal shunt and two underwent temporal lobectomy. Two patients with sequestered temporal lobe had acute deterioration in consciousness with signs of impending herniation and required urgent surgical intervention. Four patients recovered on anti-tubercular treatment over 18 months; one receiving secondary line ATT for residual brain abscess. CONCLUSION Tubercular ventriculitis is a rare complication of tubercular meningitis. MRI feature of sequestered ventricles/intraventricular septations and hyperintense ependymal wall on MT images could suggest tubercular etiology. Symptomatic hydrocephalus may require CSF diversion in most patients.

Spinal epidural lipomatosis: An unusual cause of relapsing and remitting paraparesis.

Epidural lipomatosis is a rare entity to cause spinal cord compression and neurological deficits. This is usually associated with excess of steroids in the body either because of endogenous source as in Cushings disease or exogenous intake as in some diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus, in some endocrinopathies or in morbid obesity. But in some cases no cause has been found. Such idiopathic cases of spinal epidural lipomatosis have also been reported. Here, we report a case of idiopathic spinal epidural lipomatosis with relapsing and remitting paraparesis which is quite unusual. Treatment depends upon neurological status of the patient. We operated the patient as he had significant neurological compromise and he improved significantly.

Cerebral gliosarcoma: Analysis of 16 patients and review of literature.

Background: Gliosarcoma (GS), a subtype of glioblastoma (GBM), is a rare primary neoplasm of the central nervous system. Certain features like temporal lobe affinity, tendency for extraneural metastasis and poorer outcome compared to GBM indicate that GS may indeed be a separate clinicopathologic entity. This led us to revisit this entity in our settings. Materials and Methods: Between 2009 and 2014, 16 cases of histologically proven GSs (14 primary, two secondary) were treated. Patient data were retrieved retrospectively. Statistical analysis was performed with? Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 17.0. (Chicago, Illinois, USA). Survival was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier method. Results: GS predominantly affected males in their fifth decade of life. Raised intracranial pressure was the most common mode of clinical presentation. Temporal lobe was the most commonly affected part of the brain and majority of primary and all of secondary GBM were located peripherally. In 7 (43.8%) patients, tumor was radiologically well-demarcated and enhanced strongly and homogenously on contrast as compared to 9 (56.2%) patients where the tumor was ill-defined and showed heterogenous patchy or ring enhancement. Extent of excision was total in seven patients (43.8%), near total in 4 (25%) and subtotal in five patients (31.2%). Median survival was 6 months. Patients with well-demarcated, enhancing mass on imaging intraoperatively had firm tumors with a good plane of cleavage and had a better survival (8 months) compared to those in whom the tumor radiologically and intraoperatively mimicked GBM (2 months). Conclusion: GS is associated with poor survival (median survival 6 months). Radiological and intraoperative findings help categorize these tumors into GBM like GS and meningioma like GS. While the former histologically mimics GBM and has very poor survival (2 months), GS with meningioma like feature tends to have better survival (8 months).

A clinicopathological and neuroradiological study of paediatric meningioma from a single centre

Paediatric meningiomas are rare intracranial neoplasms representing 0.4% to 4.1% of tumours in paediatric patients and 1.5% to 1.8% of all intracranial meningiomas. The goal of this study was to determine the epidemiology, clinical presentation, radiological features, morphological spectrum and treatment outcome of paediatric meningiomas. All evaluable reports of meningioma in children from 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2009 were retrieved from the database of our Department of Pathology and were assessed retrospectively. This study describes 12 patients (nine males, three females; age range, 4-18 years; mean, 12.8 years). Their age and sex distribution, presenting symptoms, neurological findings, location, neuroradiological and histopathological findings were reviewed and the results were compared with published reports. Atypical and malignant meningiomas seem to be more common in childhood and adolescence than in adulthood.

Angio negative spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage: Is repeat angiogram required in all cases?

Background: In some cases of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), the cause of bleed remains obscure on initial evaluation. These patients may harbor structural lesions. We aim to determine the utility of repeat angiogram in these subsets of patients. Methods: In this prospective study, patients with SAH with a negative computed tomographic angiogram (CTA) and digital subtraction angiogram (DSA) were included. A repeat angiogram was done after 6 weeks of initial angiogram. Patients were divided into perimesencephalic SAH (PM-SAH) and diffuse classic SAH (Classic-SAH) groups. Outcome was determined by modified Rankin score (mRS). Results: A total of 22% (39/178) of all SAH were angio-negative. A total of 90% (n = 35) of these were in Hunt and Hess grade 1-3. A total of 22 patients had PM-SAH and 17 had a Classic-SAH. Repeat angiogram did not reveal any pathology in the PM-SAH group, whereas two patients with Classic-SAH were found to have aneurysms. At 6 months follow-up, 95% patients of PM-SAH and 83.3% of Classic-SAH had mRS of 0. Conclusion: Repeat angiogram is probably not necessary in patients of PM-SAH and they tend to have better outcome. Classic-SAH pattern of bleed is associated with fair chances of an underlying pathology and a repeat angiogram is recommended and these cases and they have poorer outcome.

Extradural spinal meningioma: Revisiting a rare entity

Spinal meningiomas are mostly intradural in location although at times these are associated with some extradural extensions. Purely extradural spinal meningiomas (EDSMs) are however, extremely rare and when present, may cause diagnostic dilemma preoperatively. Only seven cases of pure EDSM have been reported till date. In this paper, we describe two cases of EDSM affecting the cervical spine and present their clinical profiles, radiological findings, operative management, and follow-up data, along with a review of the literature.