ABSTRACT
Objectives Distal anterior cerebral artery (DACA) aneurysms are a subset of aneurysms located in the anterior circulation but away from the circle of Willis. We analyze the clinical presentation and outcomes of two treatment groups-surgical and endovascular-for DACA aneurysms managed by a dual-trained neurosurgeon. Material and Methods A retrospective evaluation of radiological and operative/interventional data of 34 patients with 35 DACA aneurysms over a 12-year period was analyzed. Twenty-seven patients underwent surgery, whereas seven underwent endovascular coiling of the aneurysms. Modified Fisher grade and World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies scale (WFNS) were used to note the subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) severity. Statistical Analysis Categorical data were presented as frequency and percentage, while noncategorical data were represented as mean ± SD. Statistical significance for difference in outcome between the two groups was analyzed using Chi-square test, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Of 34 patients, 33 presented with a bleed and 23.5% patients were noted to have another aneurysm in addition to the DACA aneurysm. Patients who underwent clipping for another aneurysm along with the DACA aneurysm in a single surgical exercise had a poor outcome compared with those who underwent surgery for the lone DACA aneurysm (7 vs. 20, p = 0.015). Most patients in both surgical (70.37%) and endovascular (85.71%) groups had good outcome (mRS ≤ 2). Conclusions A good outcome can be achieved with either surgery or endovascular coiling in the management of DACA aneurysms. In patients with multiple aneurysms, SAH with aneurysmal rupture of DACA should be managed first; the other unruptured aneurysm may be operated after an interval to avoid morbidity.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Tuberculosis (TB) is a common infectious disorder in developing countries. A significant load of patients with extrapulmonary TB are diagnosed in our institute, mostly involving the spine. AIM: We aimed to present our experience in the surgical management of spinal TB. SETTING AND DESIGN: This was a retrospective observational study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy patients (year 2016-2018) who underwent surgical management with minimum of 1-year follow-up (17 patients lost during follow-up) were graded as per the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grading system for neurological deficits. All were surgically treated with laminectomy and epidural abscess drainage/transpedicular debridement of granulation with/without spinal stabilization. Thoracic and lumbar cases were managed by posterior approach; among them, 12 patients who had no significant cord compression and good ASIA grade with facet involvement (requiring fusion) underwent minimally invasive pedicle screw fixation. Cervical cases were managed mostly by anterior approach. All patients received Anti-tubercular treatment (ATT) post operatively as per protocol postoperatively, following which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) spine was done. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18.0 (SPSS Inc. Released in 2009. PASW Statistics for Windows, version 18.0. Chicago, IL, USA: SPSS Inc.). The continuous variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics using mean and standard deviation. RESULTS: The average age was 42.5 years. The most common location was thoracic (28 patients), followed by lumbar (20 patients), cervical (16 patients), and thoracolumbar (6 patients). Twenty patients had epidural abscess with cord compression. All patients who presented within 4 weeks of onset of symptoms showed a statistically significant improvement postsurgery. Sixteen patients with epidural abscess had good neurological recovery immediately after surgery (ASIA B to ASIA D/E). Four patients with epidural abscess with late presentation remained ASIA A after surgery. All patients had good fusion rates (follow-up X-ray) at 1 year. After ATT course completion, all patients had complete eradication of disease (MRI spine). CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment for spinal TB, if performed early (within 4 weeks) with good decompression, results in satisfactory clinical outcome with early improvement in the neurological deficits. Posterior approach to the spine with decompression and fixation gives good results, and minimally invasive procedures further help lessen muscle dissection, less pain, and early mobilization.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Micronucleus (MN) is an extranuclear body within the cell formed due to failure of incorporation of whole chromosomes or their fragments during cell division. MN scoring can be done to identify malignant effusions. AIMS: This study aimed to score micronuclei to distinguish malignant effusion from benign effusions and to correlate MN score with type of malignant effusion. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A retrospective study was conducted on 30 malignant and 30 benign effusions. The number of micronucleated cells per 1,000 cells was counted in effusion smears stained with Papanicolaou stain under oil immersion (1,000×). RESULTS: The mean MN score in malignant effusions was 3.77 with standard deviation (SD) of 2.13. The mean MN score in benign effusions was 0.50 with SD of 0.57. The difference in MN score between malignant and benign effusions is statistically significant (P < 0.001). A cut-off MN score of 6.5 was seen to distinguish malignant and benign effusions with 100% specificity and 100% sensitivity in this study. CONCLUSIONS: MN score is higher in malignant effusions when compared with benign effusions. This can be used to differentiate malignant effusions from benign effusions in low resource setting.
