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Case Reports
. 2017 Apr-Jun;7(2):126-128.
doi: 10.4103/IJCIIS.IJCIIS_121_16.

Spontaneous intraventricular rupture of a craniopharyngioma cyst: A case report

Kunal Vakharia  1   2 , Ioannis Dimitrios Siasios  1   2 , Alexander B Dorsch  1   2 , Jody Leonardo  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Spontaneous intraventricular rupture of a craniopharyngioma cyst: A case report

Kunal Vakharia et al. Int J Crit Illn Inj Sci. 2017 Apr-Jun.

Abstract

Intraventricular rupture of craniopharyngioma cysts is an unusual event which is associated with a high risk of loculated or communicating hydrocephalus. A 75-year-old woman presented at the Emergency Department of our hospital with mental status deterioration due to chemical ventriculitis and acute hydrocephalus following the intraventricular rupture of a craniopharyngioma cyst. The patient was treated with stress-dose steroid therapy. In addition, she underwent placement of an external ventricular drain and endoscopy-assisted intra-cystic placement of an Ommaya reservoir for the aspiration of the cystic fluid. The patient's condition improved; she was shunted in an expeditious fashion and discharged from the Intensive Care Unit within 2 weeks of her admission with the reservoir in place for the continued drainage of the cyst.

Keywords: Craniopharyngioma; cyst; hydrocephalus; intraventricular; rupture; supracellar; ventriculitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
T2-weighted axial magnetic resonance image of the brain demonstrating prominent, hypointense, right cystic craniopharyngioma with mass effect on the right lateral ventricle
Figure 2
Figure 2
Noncontrast axial computed tomographic image of the head. The hypodensity in the nondependent part of the cyst suggests intermixing of cyst content with cerebrospinal fluid
Figure 3
Figure 3
Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery-weighted axial magnetic resonance image of the brain demonstrating fluid signal within the cystic cavity without change in cyst size and persistent ventricular dilatation, representing a change from the initial imaging findings
Figure 4
Figure 4
Noncontrast axial computed tomographic scan of the head showing placement of the Ommaya reservoir in the cystic cavity
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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