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Child's Nervous System
Published in: Child's Nervous System 4/2020

01-04-2020 | Ultrasound | Original Article

Prenatal diagnosis of arachnoid cysts: a case series and systematic review

Authors: Charles Beresford, Samuel Hall, Alexander Smedley, Nijaguna Mathad, Ryan Waters, Aabir Chakraborty, Owen C Sparrow, Vassilios Tsitouras

Published in: Child's Nervous System | Issue 4/2020

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Abstract

Introduction

Primary cysts are believed to arise from the splitting of the arachnoid membrane during prenatal development and can be diagnosed in utero. Prenatal diagnosis is uncommon; therefore, the evidence base for counselling expectant mothers is limited. The purpose of this article is to present a case series and review the current literature on prenatally diagnosed arachnoid cysts.

Method

A keyword search of hospital electronic records was performed for all patients with a prenatally diagnosed arachnoid cyst at a tertiary neurosurgical centre. Case notes were reviewed for all patients diagnosed between 2005 and 2017. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to structure a systematic review of all English language articles published up to May 2018.

Results

A total of eight eligible patients were identified from our own records and 123 from the literature. Sixty-eight per cent of patients had a normal outcome. Sixty-three per cent of patients underwent surgical intervention which was not associated with abnormal outcome. The diagnosis of syndromic/genetic diagnosis (p < 0.001) and the presence of other intra-cranial anatomical abnormalities (p = 0.05) were significant predictors of abnormal outcome.

Conclusion

The pathogenesis and prognosis of a prenatal arachnoid cyst diagnosis remain unclear. These results suggest favourable outcomes from simple cysts without associated abnormalities and expectant mothers should be counselled accordingly. A wider prospective review is required to better established evidence-based practice.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Prenatal diagnosis of arachnoid cysts: a case series and systematic review
Authors
Charles Beresford
Samuel Hall
Alexander Smedley
Nijaguna Mathad
Ryan Waters
Aabir Chakraborty
Owen C Sparrow
Vassilios Tsitouras
Publication date
01-04-2020
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Child's Nervous System / Issue 4/2020
Print ISSN: 0256-7040
Electronic ISSN: 1433-0350
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-019-04477-6

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