Paediatric Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH)—A Review

Paediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), is a rare but important differential diagnosis in children presenting with papilloedema. It is characterised by raised intracranial pressure in the absence of an identifiable secondary structural or systemic cause and is, therefore, a diagnosis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Life (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2021-06, Vol.11 (7), p.632
Main Authors: Malem, Andrew, Sheth, Twishaa, Muthusamy, Brinda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Age groups
Androgens
Children
Demographics
Diagnosis
Differential diagnosis
Diplopia
Edema
Females
Headache
Headaches
Hypertension
Intracranial pressure
Metabolism
Morbidity
Neurological disorders
Obesity
Optic nerve
Optic neuropathy
optical coherence tomography
Overweight
paediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension
papilloedema
Pathogenesis
Pathophysiology
Patients
Pediatrics
pseudo tumour cerebti
Psychological effects
Review
Risk factors
Signs and symptoms
Swelling
vision
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Summary:Paediatric idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), is a rare but important differential diagnosis in children presenting with papilloedema. It is characterised by raised intracranial pressure in the absence of an identifiable secondary structural or systemic cause and is, therefore, a diagnosis of exclusion. In the adult population, there is a strong predilection for the disease to occur in female patients who are obese. This association is also seen in paediatric patients with IIH but primarily in the post-pubertal cohort. In younger pre-pubertal children, this is not the case, possibly reflecting a different underlying disease aetiology and pathogenesis. Untreated IIH in children can cause significant morbidity from sight loss, chronic headaches, and the psychological effects of ongoing regular hospital monitoring, interventions, and medication. The ultimate goal in the management of paediatric IIH is to protect the optic nerve from papilloedema-induced optic neuropathy and thus preserve vision, whilst reducing the morbidity from other symptoms of IIH, in particular chronic headaches. In this review, we will outline the typical work-up and diagnostic process for paediatric patients with suspected IIH and how we manage these patients.
ISSN:2075-1729
2075-1729
DOI:10.3390/life11070632