Abstract

A total of 45 patients with craniopharyngioma are reviewed, with particular reference to the presenting clinical features and neuro-ophthalmological findings. Of these 50 per cent had been referred in the first instance to an eye clinic. More than half the children presented with the clinical picture of raised intracranial pressure, although one-third of these had optic atrophy rather than papilloedema. One-third of the children had a history of concomitant strabismus, and only one patient had a paretic squint. The majority of the adults presented with visual failure and optic atrophy. Bitemporal hemianopia was fairly frequently found (27 per cent of our patients at the time of diagnosis) but was asymmetrical and unpredictable in its evolution. Homonymous hemianopia was relatively common, a presenting feature in II per cent of patients in this study. Full fields were found initially in nine patients (20 per cent), a high incidence compared with pituitary adenomas or suprasellar meningiomas. We consider pleomorphism, that is a distinct change from one type of field defect to another with progress of the disease, to be a characteristic feature of the tumour (as indeed are fluctuations in the clinical state and visual acuity); it was detected in 22 per cent of our patients. Endocrine disorders were common, especially in adults, and mental deterioration was a frequent presenting feature in patients over 30 years of age. Straight x rays of the skull are practically diagnostic of craniopharyngioma in children, but in adults a normal x ray does not exclude the diagnosis.