Ewing sarcoma (ES) is an aggressive, high-grade neuroectodermal neoplasm that frequently manifests in children and young adults. Although ES without osseous involvement most commonly involves paravertebral regions of the spine, it very rarely presents as a primary intracranial tumor. This report discusses a unique presentation of an adult extraosseous ES arising from the pineal region with extension into the third and fourth ventricles and multiple drop metastases to the spine. This case demonstrates the application of current chemotherapeutic and adjuvant management and offers insight into possible treatment modalities for metastasis in an atypical extraosseous ES involving the brain and spine.
OBJECTIVE
Carotid webs (CWs) are an increasingly recognized source of recurrent stroke among young patients without conventional vascular risk factors. There have been no previous studies demonstrating that specific web morphological characteristics correlate with a higher stroke risk. The authors aim to report distinct morphological features of symptomatic and asymptomatic CWs.
METHODS
The authors performed a cross-sectional study of patients with CWs detected on CT angiography (CTA) of the neck. Patients were categorized based on whether or not they presented with stroke ipsilaterally and if it was likely to be attributable to their web. The following CW morphological variables were recorded and compared based on CTA: length, thickness, angle, and the proportion of carotid bulb lumen occupied by the web (web-to-bulb ratio [WBR]).
RESULTS
A total of 86 CWs were identified, 14 of which presented with stroke (16.3%). Patients presenting with stroke had webs that were significantly longer (4.18 mm vs 2.20 mm, p = 0.001) and were situated at more acute angles relative to the carotid wall (73.2° vs 94.9°, p = 0.004). Additionally, patients presenting with stroke had higher WBRs compared to the asymptomatic cohort (0.50 vs 0.36, p = 0.008). The optimal threshold associated with stroke was web length ≥ 3.1 mm (OR 15.2, 95% CI 3.73–61.8; p < 0.001), web angle ≤ 90.1° (OR 5.00, 95% CI 1.42–17.6; p = 0.012), and WBR ≥ 0.50 (OR 30.0, 95% CI 5.94–151; p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Patients with CWs that occupy more than half of the diameter of the carotid bulb lumen and are situated at acute angles relative to the carotid wall are more likely to present with acute ischemic stroke. Additional studies are needed to determine the long-term outcomes of these lesions.
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