Asymptomatic idiopathic intracranial hypertension in children

OBJECTIVE: To define characteristics of pediatric asymptomatic idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our Neuro-Ophthalmology database (2000-2006) for all cases of symptomatic and asymptomatic pediatric IIH. RESULTS: Out of 45 IIH cases, 14 (31.1%) were asymptomatic (incidental examination). When compared with children with symptomatic IIH, asymptomatic cases were younger [5.6 (1.8-15) vs 11.0 (5-17) years, P = 0.007], had lower percentage of obesity (14.3% vs 48.4%, P = 0.046), and had male predominance (71.4% vs 38.7%, P = 0.06). Asymptomatic cases required shorter duration of acetazolamide treatment [3 (0-8), vs 6 (0-20) months, P = 0.021], and resulted in complete resolution of swollen discs. CONCLUSIONS: We speculate that asymptomatic IIH may be more common in young children and could represent a milder form or a presymptomatic phase before evolving into classic symptomatic IIH. Further studies to assess the clinical significance of asymptomatic IIH are warranted.