title: Clinical spectrum of the pseudotumor cerebri in children: etiological, clinical features, treatment and prognosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) is a clinical condition characterized by signs and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, such as headache and papilledema. Our aim was to investigate the etiological and clinical features of pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a comprehensive analysis of epidemiology, diagnostic work-up, therapy, and clinical follow-up in 42 consecutive patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Totally 42 patients diagnosed with PTC [27 (64.3%) females and 15 (35.7%) males] were included in the study. The average age of the symptoms onset was 10.79±3.43 years (range from 12 months to 17 years). Obesity was found in eleven (26.2%) of them. Two of the patients had familial mediterranean fever, two of them had posttraumatic PTC. The following diseases were one patient, respectively; mycophenolate mofetil-induced PTC, hypervitaminosis A induced PTC, corticosteroid induced withdrawal due to nephritic syndrome, use of oral contraceptives, Guillain-Barre syndrome, urinary tract infection, varicella-zoster virus infection and dural venous sinus thrombosis associated with otitis media. The most common symptom was headache, recorded in 76.2% of the patients. All patients were treated medically. Three patients in our group also required a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pseudotumor cerebri is an avoidable cause of visual loss, both in adults and children. Pre-pubertal obese girls are more common. Medical therapy appeared to be successful in treating pediatric PTC in most patients. Nevertheless, despite adequate treatment, children can rarely experience loss of visual field and acuity; thus, prompt diagnosis and management are important.
authors.affiliation: Erciyes University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Kayseri, Turkey. hper@erciyes.edu.tr
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Per
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canpolat
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gümüş
authors.forename: Hatice Gamze
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Poyrazoğlu
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yıkılmaz
authors.forename: Sarper
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karaküçük
authors.forename: Hakkı
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Doğan
authors.forename: Sefer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumandaş
mesh_terms: D000086:Acetazolamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000086:Acetazolamide