The Child with a Large Head: Cranial Computed Tomography Findings in 123 Nigerian Children with Macrocephaly

Objectives: Differentiation of benign macrocephaly from other etiologies that may require prompt evaluation and intervention is very necessary to prevent long term neurological deficits. Cross-sectional imaging of the brain with Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is recommended in evaluation of such patients. In resource poor-settings, CT is more readily available, hence the objective in this study is to evaluate the spectrum of CT findings in children with macrocephaly in our locality and document the possible etiologic factors that are amenable to surgical intervention.

Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study of pediatric patients with clinical diagnosis of large head/macrocephaly who were evaluated with cranial CT in a tertiary hospital in Abuja from January 2018- June 2022. SAS software (SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA) version 9.4 was used for database management and analysis with P≤ 0.05 level of significance.

Results: One hundred and twenty three children were included in the study with ages ranging from 2 days to 4 years. Majority of the children were males, 74 (60.2%). The predominant age group at presentation was between 0 to 6 months,78 (63.4%). Hydrocephalus was the main cause of macrocephaly in 110 patients (89.4%). Congenital hydrocephalus was predominant in 81 children (73.6%). Communicating hydrocephalus was noted in 44 children (40%) while 62 (56.4%) were non-communicating. The commonest level of obstruction was at the aqueduct of Sylvius and exit foramina in 22 (35.5%) patients each. There was no significant statistical difference between the genders(P=0.920).

Conclusion: CT is a veritable tool in the evaluation of the child with a large head with an appreciable number of surgically amenable pathologies noted. Hydrocephalus is the commonest etiology of macrocephaly in our environment with the majority of the cases due to congenital abnormalities.