Hydrocephalus resulting from superior vena cava thrombosis in an infant

Abstract

The authors report an unusual case of superior vena cava thrombosis in an infant who subsequently developed communicating hydrocephalus; they also review previously reported cases of dural sinus hypertension, and separate them into two groups. Patients in the first group develop hydrocephalus and those in the second develop a pseudotumor-like syndrome. The former patients tend to have generalized increase in intracranial venous pressure while the latter have a normal pressure in some major intracranial venous structure(s). The absence of venous cushioning of the choroid plexus pulse wave is proposed as the cause of ventricular enlargement in the former group. In addition, patients in the large-ventricle group were younger than patients in the small-ventricle group.

Dynamic cervicomedullary cord compression and alterations in cerebrospinal fluid dynamics in children with achondroplasia: review of an 11-year surgical case series

“…Our observation is very difficult to interpret as ventriculomegaly is well documented in achondroplasia, 5,7,9,15,16,18,22 but the clinical significance of ventriculomegaly and definition of hydrocephalus can be elusive and controversial.…”

Hydrocephalus following Bilateral Jugular Venous Thrombosis in a Child: Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…Hydrocephalus resulting from bilateral jugular venous thrombosis or superior vena cava syndrome has been infrequently reported in the literature [1,2,3,4,5]. In this report, we present the case of an 18-month-old girl who developed hydrocephalus following bilateral thrombosis of her internal jugular veins, as a result of prolonged total parenteral nutrition (TPN).…”

“…In addition, thrombosis of the vena cava or the jugular veins is a frequent complication occurring in 10–21% of infants receiving long-term TPN through a central venous catheter [3,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Catheter-related infections may precede thrombosis, which is the presumed mechanism of venous obstruction.…”

“…Catheter-related infections may precede thrombosis, which is the presumed mechanism of venous obstruction. Finally, cerebral venous outflow obstruction has been incriminated in the delayed development of communicating hydrocephalus in children, many months after the removal of TPN catheters [1, 3, 7, 8, 14]. …”

Hydrocephalus and Elevated Intracranial Venous Pressure

“…The hydrocephalus is produced by 'obstruction to flow of the cerebrospinal fluid through these subarachnoid spaces near the granu lation valves and sagittal sinus'. Characteristically, both the ventricles and subarachnoid spaces are enlarged, but the ventricular enlargement is less marked than is usually present with other causes of hydrocephalus [8,9].…”