[Macrocephaly in childhood]. / Macrocefalia en la infancia.

ABSTRACT

In a wide spectrum of cases in childhood, macrocephaly does not carry a neurological risk, although a range of possibilities will have an impact on both the evolutionary and cognitive aspects of children. The previous happens in pathologies with progressive components, such as tumors or hydrocephalus, and in those cases in which the factor of the growth of the cephalic perimeter is given by structural components of the nervous system as it happens in megalocephaly. As in all other medical acts, the careful taking of the anamnesis, the appropriate neurological examination and the valuations of the neurodevelopment items can give a thorough orientation about the etiology and importance of the problem. The help of diagnostic aids as well as images will provide the other data to define the diagnosis and propose a treatment.