Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal
General Hospital, Mumbai, India
Note: [] Correspondence: Syed Ahmed Zaki, M.D., Department of Pediatrics,
Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Room no. 509, new RMO quarters,
Sion, Mumbai, 400022, India. Tel.: +98 69970785; Fax: +91 22 24086150; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: Pseudotumor cerebri is a clinical syndrome that mimics brain tumor
and is characterized by increased intracranial pressure in the absence of
intracranial pathology. This syndrome may have an identifiable specific
underlying cause or may be idiopathic. The possible association between this
condition and infections has been suggested in a few case series. We present a
child with nephrotic syndrome on low dose steroids who developed pseudotumor
cerebri following varicella infection. There are very few case reports
describing such an association previously. We suggest that pseudotumor cerebri
should be included in the differential diagnosis of persistent headache in a
child suffering from varicella infection, especially when the child is on
steroids.
