High incidence of neural tube defects in Northern part of India.

BACKGROUND: In the absence of primary care and prevailing associated social stigma, many patients of neural tube defects (NTDs) from remote areas die without getting any treatment. The high number of such untreated cases and unregistered deaths in these areas made us ponders to the fact that tertiary care center-based studies do not represent the true incidence of NTDs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We did a population-based survey for NTDs births of rural areas from Jaunpur to Ghazipur district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. These districts are among the least developed areas of Northern India in Uttar Pradesh among other 17. RESULTS: The data show an incidence of 7.48 per 1000 live births. CONCLUSION: Besides of unawareness regarding periconceptional folate supplementation, intensive effort is required to design adequately powered studies to search other key factors responsible for high prevalence of NTDs.

Bilateral occipital extradural hematoma in a child.

Extradural hematoma (EDH) occurs in approximately 2% of all patients with head injuries. Bilateral EDHs account for 2-10% of all acute EDHs in adults but are exceedingly rare in children. Posterior fossa EDHs occurs in 5% of all cases of EDHs. EDHs in children are more frequently venous (from tears of a dural sinus or diploic veins) and consequently have a better prognosis than EDHs in adults. Once the diagnosis of BEH is confirmed, urgent surgical treatment should be considered. We are reporting such rare form of injury as bilateral occipital EDH with supratentorial extension in 12 years child following road traffic accident.

Spinal intradural extramedullary mature cystic teratoma in an adult: A rare tumor with review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Spinal intradural extramedullary teratoma is a rare condition, more common in children than in adults often with a history of spinal dysraphism. METHOD: We reviewed the literature and Pubmed advanced search showed nine results of intradural extramedullary teratoma in adults which included five independent case reports and three cases in a case series. We reported a rare case of intradural extramedullary teratoma in an adult located opposite L4 vertebra with neither spinal dysraphism nor any history of the prior spinal procedure. RESULTS: The occurrence of teratomas in the spine is extremely rare. Further, spinal intradural extramedullary teratoma is more common in children but a rare entity in adults. CONCLUSION: Although uncommon, spinal cord neoplasm should be considered in the differential diagnosis of backache or radicular pain associated with neurological deficits even in absence of spinal dysraphism or any spinal procedure.