The minor symptoms of increased intracranial pressure

Abstract

Of 101 patients with benign intracranial hypertension not related to vasculitis, neck stiffness occurred in 31, tinnitus in 27, distal extremity paresthesias in 22, joint pains in 13, low back pain in 5, and gait "ataxia" in 4. Symptoms resolved promptly upon lowering the intracranial pressure by lumbar puncture, and were probably directly caused by intracranial hypertension. Awareness of these "minor" symptoms of increased intracranial pressure can facilitate diagnosis and management.