Hydrocephalus in the adult secondary to the rupture of intracranial arterial aneurysms.

Abstract

HE interest paid during the last years to the hydrocephalic syndrome in the adult is reflected in the increasing number of publications dealing with this subject. 1,~,s,11,14,1~,1~,~~ The nomenclature is somewhat confusing, for terms such as occult hydrocephalus, non-pressure hydrocephalus, normal-pressure hydrocephalus, low-pressure hydrocephalus, idiopathic hydrocephalus, and nonobstructive adult have been used to refer, within some limitations, to the same clinical entity. Some new etiological aspects have been reported, TM and more active therapy is being carried out in most neurological centers. This report concerns the hydrocephalic picture that may develop in the adult secondary to subarachnoid hemorrhage from the rupture of arterial intracranial aneurysms. A classical study of the reactions caused by blood when injected in the subarachnoid space and the relation of these reactions to the development of hydrocephalus was reported in 1928 by Bagley. 4,~ Although since then both clinical ~,6,12,2~176 and pathological 3,6,2~ reports on short series have been published, there are still no statistics on the incidence of this complication in a large series of adults 3~ and the frequency of hydrocephalus due to basal arachnoiditis following subarachnoid hemorrhage is not known? ~ Statements like these, and the fact that during the treatment of our cases some interesting clinical, radiological, and etiological factors were found, have prompted this study.