Neurosurgery notes/CSF/Hydrocephalus (HCP)/Chronic HCP

Chronic HCP

View Details
logo
Parent item
Hydrocephalus (HCP)
  • Features indicative of chronic hydrocephalus (as opposed to acute hydrocephalus)
    • Beaten copper cranium (some refer to beaten silver appearance) on plain skull X-ray.
      • By itself, does not correlate with increased ICP, however when associated with #3 and #4 below, does suggest ↑ ICP. May be seen in craniosynostosis; see description
    • 3ʳᵈ ventricle herniating into sella (seen on CT or MRI)
    • Erosion of sella turcica (may be due to #2 above) which sometimes produces an empty sella, and erosion of the dorsum sella
    • The temporal horns may be less prominent on imaging than in acute HCP
    • Macrocrania: by convention, OFC greater than 98ᵗʰ percentile
    • Atrophy of corpus callosum: best appreciated on sagittal MRI
    • In infants
      • Sutural diastasis
      • Delayed closure of fontanelles
      • Failure to thrive or developmental delay