Prevalence of Chiari I Malformation and Syringomyelia

Elyne N Kahn; Karin M Muraszko; Cormac O Maher

doi:10.1016/j.nec.2015.06.006

Prevalence of Chiari I Malformation and Syringomyelia

Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2015 Oct;26(4):501-7. doi: 10.1016/j.nec.2015.06.006. Epub 2015 Aug 4.

Authors

Elyne N Kahn¹, Karin M Muraszko¹, Cormac O Maher²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
² Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address: cmaher@med.umich.edu.

PMID: 26408058
DOI: 10.1016/j.nec.2015.06.006

Abstract

Chiari I malformation (CM) is a common neurosurgical diagnosis and spinal cord syrinx is frequently found in patients with CM. Asymptomatic CM is a common imaging finding. Symptomatic CM is less common. Variation in prevalence estimates may be attributed to differences in sensitivity of CM detection between studies as well as differences in the populations being analyzed. The prevalence of low tonsil position and CM on MRI is higher in children and young adults compared with older adults. Studies that include a large number of older adults find a lower prevalence compared with analyses of children.

Keywords: Chiari; Imaging; Incidence; Prevalence; Syrinx.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Arnold-Chiari Malformation / diagnosis
Arnold-Chiari Malformation / epidemiology*
Arnold-Chiari Malformation / surgery*
Decompression, Surgical / methods
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging* / methods
Prevalence
Spinal Cord / surgery*
Syringomyelia / diagnosis
Syringomyelia / epidemiology*