All issues > Volume 34(7); 1991

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1991;34(7):971-977. Published online July 31, 1991.

Clinical significance of mega cisterna magna.

Young Hyuk Lee¹, Min Hee Kim¹, Kyo Sun Kim¹, Hae Jeong Jeon², Jeong Hee Park²

¹Department of Pediatrics, Konkuk University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Radiology, Konkuk University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Received: March 7, 1991;  Accepted: May 31, 1991.

Abstract

The mega cistema magna is a congenital developmental malformation. The size of the cistema magna and the criterion of the mega cistema is still debatable. A clinical study had been performed on 12 children with mega cistema magna diagnosed by computed tomography scan from January 1980 to December 1990. The results are summarized as follows: 1) Among 4900 consecutive unselected computed tomography scans, twelve cases with mega cistema magna were detected. The incidence of mega cistema magna in our series was 0.24%. Eight cases were male and four were female ratio was 2:1. 2) Delayed development, seizure, hyperactivity, headache, microcephaly in order of frequency were the chief complaints on admission. Neurologic examination was abnormal in 2 children, but all of the children did not related to the symptoms of mass effect in the posterior fossa. 3) The dimensions of the cisterns ranged as follows: Width between 15~80 mm, depth between 10 ~40 mm, mean of width X depth was 43 X 21 mm. 4) Cerebellar atrophy was found in 1 child who presented with microcephaly and delayed develop- ment, but cerebral atrophy was not detected in any child. 5) Conservative treatment was done according to the symptoms, but mega cistemamagna itself did not require any form of treatment. 6) Among 12 cases, one male child was taken computed tomography scan due to head injury, but he did not have any specific symptoms and signs. Mega cistema magna was found incidentally. So it is necessary to collect more cases for better evaluation of relationship between clinial and radiological findings.

Keywords :Mega Cisterna Magna