Diagnostic approach to microcephaly in childhood: a two-center study and review of the literature.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic approach to microcephaly in childhood and to identify the prevalence of the various underlying causes/disease entities.

Method: We conducted a retrospective study on a cohort of 680 children with microcephaly (399 males, 281 females; mean age at presentation 7-8mo, range 1mo-5y) from patients presenting to Charité - University Medicine Berlin (n=474) and University Hospital Dresden (n=206). Patient discharge letters were searched electronically to identify cases of microcephaly, and then the medical records of these patients were used to analyze parameters for distribution.