Idiopathic intracranial hypertension: descriptive analysis in our setting.

Introduction: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a disorder characterised by increased intracranial pressure without evidence of an expansive intracranial process or cerebrospinal fluid cytochemical alterations.

Patients And Method: We reviewed the medical records of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension admitted to our hospital between 1999 and 2009 and who met the modified Dandy criteria. We collected the following data: age, body mass index (BMI), outlet pressure of cerebrospinal fluid, cardiovascular history, imaging studies, treatment, and outcome.

Results: We analysed 61 patients (19 males and 42 females) with a mean age of 35.38 years. A BMI above the normal range was determined for 72.13% of the patients, although 47.37% of males showed normal weight. Fifty per cent of patients had a cardiovascular risk factor, especially dyslipidaemia, hypertension, and contraceptive drugs in women. Headache was the main presenting symptom, followed by visual field defects and other visual disturbances. Bilateral papilledema was present in 81.96% of the patients.

Conclusions: The approximate incidence is 1.2/100,000 individuals/year. The condition is more common in young women with higher body weight and it is also associated with contraceptive drugs. Headache with bilateral papilloedema and impaired visual acuity stand out as the main symptoms. An interesting finding from this study is that male patients had a lower BMI, a lower incidence of headache and increased visual impairment.