Macro/Microcephaly Flashcards
(11 cards)
What are the three causes of macrocephaly in children?
- Familial Megalencephaly
- Rebound Brain Growth (increased growth after prematurity)
- Benign Extracerebral Collections of Infancy - delayed development of dural channels, resolves over a year
What do you need to consider when assessing macrocephaly?
- Head growth rate
- Developmental milestones
- Signs of increased ICP
If a patient has macrocephaly with normal growth rate and normal neuro exam, what is the likely cause?
Familial Megalencephaly
If a patient has macrocephaly with increased growth rate after illness or history of prematurity?
Rebound Brain Growth
If a patient has macrocephaly with increased growth rate, normal milestones/neuro exam?
Benign extracerebral collections of infancy
If a patient has macrocephaly that has increased growth rate and signs of increase ICP?
Hydrocephalus
What is acquired microcephaly and causes?
Injury to previously normal brain, starts normal at birth and grows at slow rate thereafter the event
- Environmental insults at birth or childhood
- Metabolic genetic disorders - PKU
What is microcephaly usually associated with no matter the cause?
Seizures, Intellectual disability, Developmental delay
When do you refer a patient with microcephaly to a specialist geneticist?
- Hx of loss of developmental milestones
- FamHx of consanguinity and small head size
- Exam of dysmorphic features
When do you refer a patient with microcephaly to infectious disease specialist?
- Hx of maternal or perinatal infection
- Petechia
- Cataracts
- Jaundice
- Meningitis symptoms
If a basic history and physical do not reveal a specific cause of microcephaly, what is indicated, when do you do an MRI?
- If severe microcephaly
- disproportionate microcephaly
- Neurologic symptoms present
