Hydrocephalus in adults and symptomsLearn more about Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus at http://www.spinabifida.net

Clinical Presentation of Adult Hydrocephalus • It is simply a manifestation of increased

Intracranial pressure:• Headache.• Vomiting. • Blurring of vision and papilloedema.• Deterioration of level of consciousness.

• The underlying cause may be detected such as history of trauma, Meningitis or tumor.

Investigations of Hydrocephalus• We well mention here all available investigations for

Hydrocephalus, but it is not necessary to do all the investigations for every patient.

• Ultrasonography (US):• It is the first investigatory methods for Infantile cases,

because it needs open AF, It is simple, non invasive and cheep. It is the method of choice to diagnose intrauterine cases.

• Plain x-ray skull: • Plain x-ray skull have no role in diagnosis of infantile cases.

In adults, it may show pathological intracranial calcification, suture diastases or erosion of the dorsum sella.

Investigations of Hydrocephalus (Cont.)

• Computerized Tomography (CT):• It is main diagnostic tool of Hydrocephalus, CT

confirms diagnosis, localizes the site of obstruction and will show the underlying cause if present (e.g. Posterior fossa tumor fig. 5 & 6).

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):• MRI have nearly the same diagnostic value of CT

but it is expensive, not available at any place, needs long time (nearly one hour) to finish and in children it’s usually done under general anesthesia

Figure 5 & 6: Post. fossa tumor with Hydrocephalus

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