IDIOPATHIC INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION
SUMMARY
AKA PSEUDOTUMOR CEREBRI
1. Headaches, papilledema, and loss of vision-caused by raised ICP, occurs in obese, premenopausal women (90%) and can occur
during pregnancy.
2. Obesity is strongly correlated (90-95% of patients) and causal.
3. Drugs that are associated with IIH include vitamin A (used for the treatment of severe acne), tetracycline, and corticosteroids.
4. Severe, irreversible vision loss is the major morbidity, occurs in > 6% of patients.
5. Cardinal symptoms - dull morning headache or as a feeling of pressure (in 90% of patients) made worse by coughing or straining, peripheral visual field loss accompanied by blind spots, pulse-synchronous tinnitus (in 60% of patients).
6. Papilledema is a hallmark finding.
7. Neuroimaging is normal - except for slit-like ventricles.The CSF pressure is elevated, usually in the range of 25-45 cm H2O.
Reference(s)
Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].
