Viral Etiologies in Pediatric Pseudotumor Cerebri

The present prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted in three centers in Israel: the Bnai Zion, Hillel Yaffe, and Schneider Children’s Medical Centers. Twenty-seven children aged 0.5–18 years with pseudotumor cerebri were prospectively studied. Ethical approval was obtained from each hospital, and all participants or caregivers provided written informed consent. All children were examined by a pediatric neurologist and ophthalmologist. The data collected included clinical presentation, imaging, treatment, ophthalmic findings, and CSF analysis. The CSF was taken as part of the PTC diagnosis at the time of measuring the opening pressure. Using the ALLPLEX^TM meningitis panel, real-time PCR was used to test for the presence of 12 viruses that are known to cause infections of the central nervous system: cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, human herpesvirus 6 and 7, varicella–zoster virus, adenovirus, parvovirus B19, human parechovirus, measles, and hepatitis E (https://www.seegene.com/assays/allplex_meningitis_panel_assays , accessed on 1 December 2022). Twenty-three pediatric CSF samples without PTC or known infection were also tested using the ALLPLEX^TM meningitis panel and served as controls. The samples were kept at −80 Celsius, and the PCR panel was performed at the end of the study. All precipitants were vaccinated against varicella–zoster virus but not against any other pathogen included in the study.