10th October 2017:

We all are well aware of the common signs of shunt dysfunction in infants and toddlers with hydrocephalus –  enlarged head, irritability, drowsiness, full tense fontanelles when upright, seizures etc. But did you know that there is an eye sign that may be an early sign of a shunt dysfunction?

In a patient who has undergone shunt for hydrocephalus, sudden appearance of convergent squint or restriction of upgaze may indicate that the intracranial pressure is rising again due to block of the shunt.

‘Pediatric Pearls of Wisdom’ is an initiative by Agashe Paediatric SuperSpeciality Care for general practitioners and pediatricians. We send out small informative tidbits from the fields of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Pediatric Orthopedics (such as the one above) in the form of weekly emailers. If you would like to receive these emails, do drop us an email at contactus@agashehospital.com with ‘Subscribe me to Pediatric Pearls’ as the subject. You may get in touch with us here too.