Pediatric brain stem lesions: introduction of a scoring system for clinical evaluation and their treatment analysis

Isolated brainstem tuberculomas

BACKGROUND

Isolated brainstem tuberculomas are rare lesions and account for up to 5% of all intracranial tuberculomas in endemic areas. The difficulties in diagnosis and management of this condition are sparsely reported. The aim of this study is to illustrate the nuances in managing brainstem tuberculomas, define prognosis, and demonstrate a shift in management strategies with newer imaging modalities.

METHOD

A retrospective review of 14 patients diagnosed and treated with a diagnosis of 'isolated brainstem tuberculoma' between 2011 and 2015 was done. Diagnosis was made after combining the findings at clinical history, examination, as well as imaging features. Patients were treated with steroids for 6 weeks or until they made a meaningful clinical recovery, and antitubercular therapy (ATT) for a minimum of 18 months or until there was resolution of the tuberculoma. Confirmation of tubercular pathology was done by observing if response to treatment resulted in clinical improvement, which happened in all of our cases.

RESULTS

Mean age at diagnosis was 24.7 years and nine were males. Twelve patients had a combination of cranial nerve deficits with pyramidal weakness or sensory symptoms. Mean duration of symptoms was 4.7 months and tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were negative in all patients. Only two patients had a previous history of tubercular meningitis. Most lesions were located in the pons with size ranging from 1 to 22.2 cm³. Eight patients showed complete resolution of the lesion at latest follow-up and the rest were still on ATT. Mean duration of ATT received for resolution of the lesion was 22 months. Almost all of our patients improved clinically on steroids and ATT.

CONCLUSIONS

Intracranial tuberculomas may present with or without meningitis. A high index of suspicion is essential, especially in endemic areas. A combination of clinical symptoms, investigations, and imaging features help in coming to a diagnosis. Biopsy of a brainstem lesion is fraught with complications. Antitubercular therapy has a very good prognosis, though the duration of therapy required may be longer.

Prognostic factors in pediatric high-grade astrocytoma: the importance of accurate pathologic diagnosis

To characterize a population of pediatric high-grade astrocytoma (HGA) patients by confirming the proportion with a correct diagnosis, and determine prognostic factors for survival in a subset diagnosed with uniform pathologic criteria. Sixty-three children diagnosed with HGA were treated at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1977 and 2004. A single neuropathologist (P.C.B.) reviewed all available histologic samples (n = 48). Log-rank analysis was used to compare survival by patient, tumor, and treatment factors. Median follow-up was 16 months for all patients and 155 months (minimum 54 months) for surviving patients. Median survival for all patients (n = 63) was 14 months with 10 long-term survivors (survival >48 months). At initial diagnosis, 27 patients were grade III (43%) and 36 grade IV (57%). Forty-eight patients had pathology slides available for review, including seven of ten long-term surviving patients. Four patients had non-HGA pathology, all of whom were long term survivors. The remaining 44 patients with confirmed HGG had a median survival of 14 months and prognostic analysis was confined to these patients. On multivariate analysis, five factors were associated with inferior survival: performance status (Lansky) <80% (13 vs. 15 months), bilaterality (13 vs. 19 months), parietal lobe location (13 vs. 16 months), resection less than gross total (13 vs. 22 months), and radiotherapy dose <50 Gy (9 vs. 16 months). Among patients with more than one of the five adverse factors (n = 27), median survival and proportion of long-term survivors were 12.9 months and 0%, compared with 41.4 months and 18% for patients with 0-1 adverse factors (n = 17). In an historical cohort of children with HGA, the potential for long term survival was confined to the subset with less than two of the following adverse prognostic factors: low performance status, bilaterality, parietal lobe site, less than gross total resection, and radiotherapy dose <50 Gy. Pathologic misdiagnosis should be suspected in patients who are long term survivors of a pediatric high grade astrocytoma.