Background:Stroke is the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The number of stroke patients receiving recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), also known as Alteplase, in the developing world is extremely low. We aim to study the feasibility and efficacy of thrombolysis for the 1st time in our country.Materials and Methods:In this retrospective study (July 2012-August 2015), acute ischemic stroke patients who were thrombolyzed within 3 h of stroke onset were included. Their demographic profiles, clinical profiles, risk factors, type of thrombolytic used, and outcomes were systematically recorded and analyzed.Results:A total of 9 patients were thrombolyzed. The mean time from the onset of stroke symptoms to first dose of rt-PA (onset to treatment) was 1.2 h. Six patients had good neurological outcome as measured by modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The median mRS at discharge was 3. Thrombolysis-related post treatment complication was noted in 44.4%, of which nonfatal intracranial bleed occurred only in 2 patients (22.2%). None of the patients receiving intravenous tenecteplase had thrombolysis-related complications, and none of the patients had fatal intracranial bleed.Conclusion:This study clearly demonstrates the beginning of a feasible and effective thrombolysis in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in Nepal.

Background:Presumptive diagnosis based solely on the clinical picture and imaging is not sufficient to provide appropriate treatment with certainty and hence histopathological confirmation of intracranial space occupying lesion (ICSOL) is essential. Needle biopsy via stereotactic frame-based or frameless neuronavigation technique is efficient procedure. The objective of this study is to compare their accuracy and efficacy and safety.Methods:This is a retrospective comparative study conducted among 101 biopsies of ICSOL. Patients data were retrieved from medical record. Data were analyzed in SPSS ver. 20. P value of <0.05 was considered significant.Results:Out of 101 patients, Frame-based stereotactic biopsy was done among 55 patients (54.4%) while 46 patients (45.6%) underwent frameless stealth neuronavigation guided biopsy. Male to female ration was 2.1:1. Age ranged from 5 to 82 years. 54.5% (55 patients) have deeper location of tumor while 45.5% (46 patients) have lobar location of tumor. Frontal (16.8%) and Thalamic (13.8%) were the common site. Mean size of tumor was 3.09±0.85cms. There was statistically significant difference in operative duration among study groups. Overall Diagnostic yield was 89.1%. Glioma was the most common (50.5%) diagnosis. Glioblastoma WHO Grade IV was 37.6% followed by lymphoma (12.8%).Conclusion:Needle biopsy via stereotactic frame-based or neuronavigation frameless technique is a safe and efficient procedure having high diagnostic yield. Reasons for negative biopsy could be missed target or retrieval of gliotic tissue.

Introduction: The skull’s main function is to protect the brain. Total skull bone thickness is the total thickness of diploe and the external and internal tables. The measurement of the human skull based on CT images results are of great practical value in the fields of anatomy, clinical medicine, biomechanics study and head injury analysis. There are few literatures about imaging assisted measurement of the cranial vault thickness while sparse literature among Nepalese population. In this study, we aim to measure the thickness of Nepalese calvarian bones and find the difference between gender and ethnic groups.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in our center during a period of 6 months. Patient of age 15 to 50 years with normal CT finding were included in the study. Using the axial view of brain CT, the thickness of cranial vault was measured and recorded in millimeter. Results: Among 100 patients, 51 were male and 49 were female. Mean thickness of frontal bone, parietal, temporal and occipital bone were 8.02±1.97 mm, 7.04±1.43 mm, 4.71±1.34 mm and 7.98±2.47 mm respectively. Conclusions: There was no significant difference in cranial vault thickness among sex or ethnical groups in patients of a hospital. Keywords: cranial vault; ethnicity; Nepalese; thickness.

Introduction: Preoperative diagnosis of intracranial space occupying lesion based solely on clinical and neuroimaging evaluation may not be sufficient to institute treatment plan without histopathological certainty. Frame based stereotactic biopsy is a technique of retrieving biopsy specimen to determine the histopathology. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and accuracy of frame based technique.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 80 patients who underwent computed tomography guided frame based stereotactic biopsy during a period of 6 years. All operations were performed under local anesthesia. Histopathology reports were retrieved and accuracy of biopsy technique analyzed. Results:Out of 80 patients, 58 were male with male to female ratio of 2.6:1. Median age of patients were 50 years with range from 16 to 75 years. Most lesions were in deeper location 49 (61.3%). Most common location was Parietal, 15 (18.8%) followed by Thalamic, 12 (15%). Mean size of lesion was 2.88±0.71cms ranged from 2 to 5cms. Biopsy was accurate to retrieve target in 74 (92.5%) patients. Histopathology revealed glial tumor in 41 (51.2%) of cases. Overall morbidity was observed in 3 (5.5%) patients. There is no procedure related mortality in this study during study period. Conclusions:Frame based biopsy of intracranial space occupying lesion is safe and efficacious procedure with high diagnostic yield.

Cranial venous sinus anatomy is fundamental in neurosurgery and radiology, especially in surgical planning and treatment of neurological diseases. In this study, we aimed to study the morphometric relationship of the transverse sinus with sigmoid sinus groove and jugular foramen and imply if this relationship could aid in diagnosing the transverse sinus thrombosis. This is a retrospective analytical study conducted in our center among 30 patients who underwent Computed Tomography (CT) venogram during a period of 1 year. Diameter of transverse sinus and sigmoid groove at midpoint, and diameter of jugular foramen as it enters the skull base were collected. Relation of transverse sinus with sigmoid sinus groove and jugular foramen was analyzed. There were 60 transverse sinuses in the study with left and right being 50% (30 each). Mean age of patients collected was 53.20 years. There were 43.3% male and 56.7% female patients. Diameter of the Transverse sinus has statistically significantly linear relationship with the diameter of the sigmoid sinus groove and jugular foramen (p<0.001) and was positively correlated (r= 0.651 and 0.624 respectively). Diameter of the transverse sinus has significant positive linear correlation with the sigmoid sinus groove and jugular foramen.