Fetal Cerebral Ventriculomegaly: A Narrative Review and Practical Recommendations for Pediatric Neurologists

Sonika Agarwal; Charu Venkatesan; Brigitte Vollmer; Barbara Scelsa; Monica E Lemmon; Andrea C Pardo; Sarah B Mulkey; Tomo Tarui; Vatsla Dadhwal; Mark Scher; Anthony R Hart; Dawn Gano

doi:10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2024.04.016

Fetal Cerebral Ventriculomegaly: A Narrative Review and Practical Recommendations for Pediatric Neurologists

Pediatr Neurol. 2024 Jul:156:119-127. doi: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2024.04.016. Epub 2024 Apr 25.

Authors

Sonika Agarwal¹, Charu Venkatesan², Brigitte Vollmer³, Barbara Scelsa⁴, Monica E Lemmon⁵, Andrea C Pardo⁶, Sarah B Mulkey⁷, Tomo Tarui⁸, Vatsla Dadhwal⁹, Mark Scher¹⁰, Anthony R Hart¹¹, Dawn Gano¹²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Neurology & Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Division of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; Paediatric and Neonatal Neurology, Southampton Children's Hospital, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK.
⁴ Department of Pediatric Neurology, Buzzi Children's Hospital, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics and Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
⁶ Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
⁷ Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia; Departments of Neurology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, District of Columbia; Division of Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, District of Columbia.
⁸ Division of Pediatric Neurology, Hasbro Children's Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
⁹ Professor, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
¹⁰ Emeritus Full Professor Pediatrics and Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
¹¹ Department of Paediatric Neurology, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
¹² Department of Neurology & Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

PMID: 38761643
DOI: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2024.04.016

Abstract

Fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly is one of the most common fetal neurological disorders identified prenatally by neuroimaging. The challenges in the evolving landscape of conditions like fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly involve accurate diagnosis and how best to provide prenatal counseling regarding prognosis as well as postnatal management and care of the infant. The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the literature on fetal ventriculomegaly, including postnatal management and neurodevelopmental outcome, and to provide practice recommendations for pediatric neurologists.

Keywords: Child development; Fetal brain; Fetal brain MRI; Fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly; Fetal neurology; Fetal ventriculomegaly; Hydrocephalus; Neurodevelopment.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Female
Fetal Diseases / diagnosis
Humans
Hydrocephalus* / diagnosis
Hydrocephalus* / diagnostic imaging
Neurologists / standards
Pediatrics / standards
Practice Guidelines as Topic / standards
Pregnancy
Prenatal Diagnosis / standards