Background: Intracranial hypertension, which may have a number of
different causes, is a medical emergency. Although difficult to identify due to
non-specific symptoms, it must be treated appropriately. An early sign of intracranial
hypertension is an increase is observed in the optic nerve sheath diameter. .
Ultrasonography is a rapid and easy-to-apply method to detect an increase
in optic nerve sheath diameter, and may be useful for the emergency diagnosis
and treatment, as well as contributing to clinical follow-up.
Case Presentation: In the present study,
seven patients with clinical suspicion for rapid intracranial pressure were admitted.
Clinical scenarios included traffic accident, metabolic imbalance, infection, and
intracranial mass. The pediatric emergency specialist performed
optic nerve sheath measurement by using ultrasonography and a dilatation was
detected. All measurements were taken by the certified and experienced pediatric
emergency specialist blinded to
the patient's clinical state and also the specialist was under observation of a
lecturer during the measurements. Except for one patient,
the control optic sheath diameter measurements were performed in the period,
when they had no complaint, and the values were determined to be normal. To our
knowledge, this case series is the first one examined in Turkey. The data from cases
was collected between 2015 and 2016.
Conclusion: Optic nerve sheath diameter
measurement is a non-invasive method that offers ease of diagnosis and
follow-up of suspected intracranial hypertension.
Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Clinical Sciences |
Journal Section | Case Report |
Authors | |
Publication Date | September 10, 2020 |
Submission Date | February 5, 2019 |
Published in Issue | Year 2020 |