Case report: A rare presentation of spinal teratoma in neonates: Two cases from Ethiopia

Neurosurgery Research Output in Ethiopia: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Neurosurgery-specific research plays a critical role in improving outcomes in patients with neurosurgical diseases. Despite the high burden of neurosurgical diseases in Ethiopia, little is known about types of neurosurgical research from Ethiopia. The goal of this scoping review is to assess the quantity and types of neurosurgical research published in peer-reviewed journals by authors from Ethiopia.

METHODS

PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus were searched for Ethiopian neurosurgery literature published from 2001 to 2021. We selected articles based on the following criteria: articles must 1) discuss topics within neurosurgery and 2) focus on clinical practice and/or public health in Ethiopia. We collected data on research originality, study designs, and clinical versus public health research. The frequencies and percentages of categorical variables were reported. All analyses were conducted using Jamovi software.

RESULTS

Of the 362 results, 89 neurosurgical research articles were included in the final analysis. Of the 89 articles, case reports/series were most common (28.7%), followed by retrospective cohort (20.7%) and prospective cohort studies (18.4%). There were 8 literature reviews (9.2%) and 1 systematic review and meta-analysis (1.1%). No randomized controlled trial was found. Of all articles, 66 (75.9%) focused on clinical practice, and 21 (23.6%) were related to the public health aspect of neurosurgery. Forty-two articles (48.3%) included authors only from Ethiopia; 37 articles (42.5%) involved collaboration between Ethiopian and authors from another country, and 8 articles (9.2%) did not have Ethiopian authors.

CONCLUSIONS

Neurosurgery research from Ethiopia is lacking, despite its high disease burden. Case reports/series and cohort studies remain the mainstay, with few systematic reviews and no randomized controlled trial. International collaboration accounts for approximately half of Ethiopian neurosurgery research output. Further research support and infrastructure should be developed to encourage neurosurgery articles from Ethiopia.

The landscape of neuro-oncology in East Africa: a review of published records

INTRODUCTION

Primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors represent an important and growing cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. There are global variations in the reported case burden of CNS tumors, with high-income countries reporting a higher incidence of cases than low- and middle-income countries. Variations are attributed to differences in access to care, diagnostic capacity, risk exposure, and under-reporting in LMICs. This study aims to review existing literature on the distribution of primary CNS tumors and neuro-oncologic care, and the contribution of scientists and institutions to neuro-oncologic research across 18 East African countries over the last 5 decades.

METHOD

A search was conducted using OVID Medline and PubMed databases to identify relevant East African neuro-oncologic studies published over the last 50 years.

RESULTS

The authors reviewed 36 neuro-oncology articles published across 8 of 18 East African countries. Kenya represented the highest number of published articles; ten countries queried yielded zero publications. A total of 2006 cases from all age groups were represented in published literature consisting of a wide spectrum of CNS tumors. One-third of reported cases were pediatric. Meningioma formed the largest proportion (43.3%) followed by glioma (33.7%). Sixty-seven percent of publications gave an overview of clinical care received by patients with most patients not receiving comprehensive neuro-oncologic care.

CONCLUSION

The modest collection of neuro-oncology publications from East Africa shows that the case diversity of primary CNS tumors in East Africa is comparable to the rest of the world. There is, however, poorer access to neurosurgical care and adjuvant therapy. Multidisciplinary efforts from clinicians, researchers, and healthcare agencies are needed to quantify and address the requisite neuro-oncology needs in this region.

Conus Medullaris Teratoma: Case Report and Literature Review

Teratomas are benign germ cell tumors that usually found out of their anatomical origin. Teratomas usually are found in sacrococcygeal area, gonads, mediastinum, cervicofacial region and intracranial fossa. Spinal teratomas are rare. In this study we describe a case of conus medullaris teratoma which was diagnosed based on imaging studies. The patient underwent surgery. We did bilateral laminectomy. The mass lesion had an obvious and rigid attachment to the conus medullaris. The wall of the lesion was resected as much as possible, but total resection of the lesion's wall could not be done due to changes in neural monitoring. Previous related studies are reviewed.