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25 - Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

from SECTION III - SPECIFIC NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2009

Oliver W. Hayes
Affiliation:
Ingham Regional Medical Center Sparrow Hospital/MSU Emergency Medicine Residency Program Lansing, Michigan
Lara Kunschner
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sid M. Shah
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Kevin M. Kelly
Affiliation:
Drexel University, Philadelphia
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Summary

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is clinical syndrome of dementia, gait disturbance, and urinary incontinence that progresses over a period of weeks to years. Urinary incontinence, a late symptom, occurs in less than 50% of patients. If untreated, NPH progresses resulting in an inability to stand, akinetic rigidity, and withdrawn behavior. The differential diagnosis includes Parkinson's disease, bifrontal brain disease due to tumor, metastases, cerebral infarction, aqueductal stenosis, metabolic encephalopathy, and Alzheimer's disease. When NPH is suspected clinically, computerized tomography (with contrast enhancement) reveals ventriculomegaly, minimal or absence of cortical atrophy, periventricular lucencies, and nearly normal-sized subarachnoid space. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the study of choice to evaluate ventriculomegaly and functional imaging of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow. The role of the emergency physician is to consider the diagnosis of NPH in patients with dementia and gait disturbance and to initiate appropriate referral.
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Chapter
Information
Principles and Practice of Emergency Neurology
Handbook for Emergency Physicians
, pp. 260 - 262
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

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References

Adams, R D, Fisher, C M, Hakim, S, Ojemann, R G, Sweet, W H. Symptomatic occult hydrocephalus with “normal” cerebrospinal fluid pressure: a treatable syndrome. N Engl J Med. 1965; 273: 117–26CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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  • Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
    • By Oliver W. Hayes, Ingham Regional Medical Center Sparrow Hospital/MSU Emergency Medicine Residency Program Lansing, Michigan, Lara Kunschner, Department of Neurology Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Edited by Sid M. Shah, Michigan State University, Kevin M. Kelly, Drexel University, Philadelphia
  • Book: Principles and Practice of Emergency Neurology
  • Online publication: 06 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547256.026
Available formats
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
    • By Oliver W. Hayes, Ingham Regional Medical Center Sparrow Hospital/MSU Emergency Medicine Residency Program Lansing, Michigan, Lara Kunschner, Department of Neurology Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Edited by Sid M. Shah, Michigan State University, Kevin M. Kelly, Drexel University, Philadelphia
  • Book: Principles and Practice of Emergency Neurology
  • Online publication: 06 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547256.026
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
    • By Oliver W. Hayes, Ingham Regional Medical Center Sparrow Hospital/MSU Emergency Medicine Residency Program Lansing, Michigan, Lara Kunschner, Department of Neurology Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Edited by Sid M. Shah, Michigan State University, Kevin M. Kelly, Drexel University, Philadelphia
  • Book: Principles and Practice of Emergency Neurology
  • Online publication: 06 August 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511547256.026
Available formats
×