Diagnosing a Small Intracranial Subependymal Cyst with a Febrile Epilepsy using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Rare Case Report

CASE REPORT
Kawthar Mohammed Sharief Abdulrhman

 
For citation: Abdulrhman KMS. Diagnosing a Small Intracranial Subependymal Cyst with a Febrile Epilepsy using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Rare Case Report. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2024;14(4):712-715. doi:10.21103/Article14(4)_CR2
 
Originally published December 5, 2024
 

Abstract: 

Intracranial subependymal cysts (ISECs) are benign, congenital cystic brain tumors. Only a small percentage of neonates suffer from this extremely rare condition. This case report was compiled over five months, and the male patient was five years old when the case began. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the sequence of T1- and T2-weighted imaging, and other sequences, such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), were performed. The CT findings were insignificant in this case, while the MRI revealed a small ISEC. When the patient was ten, the same ISEC was identified using MRI. It had not changed in size even though seizures had continued for five years. The current case found no direct association between the size of the ISEC and the patient’s symptoms, which included headaches, seizures, and vomiting. The patient was managed with carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant (seizure) medication, which was then changed to oxcarbazepine every 12 hours/day with regular observation every two to three months. Surgical intervention was not needed for the cyst due to its size, and there has been no expansion in brain tissue since five years ago. The MRI is an effective means of diagnosing ISEC and is considered a more accurate tool to demonstrate site and size than CT and ultrasound modalities; the child, in this case, underwent both CT and an MRI brain scan.

Keywords: 
intracranial subependymal cysts • MRI brain scan •connatal cyst • febrile seizure • brain CT scan
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Received October 18, 2024.
Accepted November 16, 2024.
©2024 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.