Consensus recommendations for the assessment and management of idiopathic intracranial hypertension in children and young people

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood Vol. 109; no. 8; pp. 654 - 658
• Main Authors: Amin, Sam, Monaghan, Marie, Forrest, Katharine, Harijan, Pooja, Mehta, Vishal, Moran, Matthew, Mukhtyar, Bina, Muthusamy, Brinda, Parker, Alasdair, Prabhakar, Prab, Whitehouse, William P, Krishnakumar, Deepa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 01.08.2024; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Adolescent; Body Composition; Body mass index; Brain; Brain research; Child; Child Health; Children; Consensus; Contraindications; Delphi Technique; Diagnosis; Diagnostic tests; Headache; Headaches; Humans; Hydrocephalus; Hypertension; Medical imaging; Medical personnel; Neuroimaging; Neurology; Neurosurgery; Obesity; Ophthalmology; Optic nerve; Optics; Original research; Paediatrics; Patients; Pediatrics; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Primary Health Care; Pseudotumor Cerebri - complications; Pseudotumor Cerebri - diagnosis; Pseudotumor Cerebri - therapy; Randomized Controlled Trials; Scientific Concepts; Sinuses; Surveillance; United Kingdom; Weight control; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; Neurology; Primary Health Care; Neurosurgery; Ophthalmology; Paediatrics
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2023-326545

BackgroundIdiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a potentially disabling condition. There is a lack of evidence and national guidance on how to diagnose and treat paediatric IIH, leading to variation in clinical practice. We conducted a national Delphi consensus via the Children’s Headache Network to propose a best-practice diagnostic and therapeutic pathway.MethodsThe Delphi process was selected as the most appropriate methodology for examining current opinion among experts in the UK. 104 questions were considered by 66 healthcare professionals, addressing important aspects of IIH care: assessment, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and surveillance. General paediatricians, paediatric neurologists, ophthalmologists, opticians, neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons with a clinical interest or experience in IIH, were invited to take part.ResultsThe Delphi process consisted of three rounds comprising 104 questions (round 1, 67; round 2, 24; round 3 (ophthalmological), 13) and was completed between March 2019 and August 2021. There were 54 and 65 responders in the first and second rounds, respectively. The Delphi was endorsed by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, which engaged 59 ophthalmologists for round 3.ConclusionsThis UK-based Delphi consensus process reached agreement for the management of paediatric IIH and has been endorsed by the Children’s Headache Network and more broadly, the British Paediatric Neurology Association. It provides a basis for a pragmatic clinical approach. The recommendations will help to improve clinical care while minimising under and over diagnosis.