Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate cognitive, motor, language and adaptive behavior development in children who had isolated choroid plexus cysts (CPC) detected prenatally.
Methods: A retrospective double cohort design and standardized psychometric measures were used to compare the development of children who had isolated CPCs identified prenatally with a control group of children who had normal prenatal ultrasounds.
Results: Our study cohort (n = 37) had a mean age of 3.88 years (SD = 0.83) and the control cohort (n = 48) had a mean age of 4.62 years (SD = 1.03). The age difference between our cohorts was significant. There were no differences between cohorts in socioeconomic status, sex, birth weight or gestational age. Cognitive data showed no clinically significant difference in Full Scale IQ using the WISC-III or WPPSI-R (CPC = 113.97, control = 116.69). Scores on standardized measures of motor and adaptive functioning also did not show any significant group differences. Children with CPCs did score significantly lower than controls on some of the measures of verbal functioning; however, this difference was not associated with clinically significant delays.
Conclusion: We conclude that the presence of isolated CPCs on midtrimester ultrasound are unlikely to be associated with any significant neurocognitive delays in early childhood.