Oztek Murat Alp,  Wright Jason,  Perez Francisco,  Khalatbari Hedieh,  Ishak Gisele

Final Pr. ID: Poster #: CR-028

Aseptic or chemical meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges without an infectious cause. It is a diagnosis of exclusion which is reached only in the appropriate clinical context after a careful search for bacterial or viral pathogens is negative. Aseptic meningitis following transsphenoidal resection of craniopharyngioma has been reported in the neurosurgical literature with an incidence of up to 3%; however, it remains unfamiliar in the radiology literature and there have been only a few case reports describing associated imaging findings. The chemical meningitis is thought to be caused by the release of craniopharyngioma fluid which contains inflammatory cholesterol crystals. Clinical and CSF findings can be identical to bacterial meningitis except for the absence of identifiable bacterial or viral pathogens. Complications can include vasospasm, stroke, and death. The purpose of this report is to describe two cases of aseptic meningitis following craniopharyngioma resection with the hope of improving awareness among pediatric radiologists. Read More

Authors:  Oztek Murat Alp , Wright Jason , Perez Francisco , Khalatbari Hedieh , Ishak Gisele

Keywords:  Craniopharyngioma, Meningitis, MRI