The probable role of hydrocephalus in the development of intraventricular septa. An observation of one case.

Multiloculated cerebral ventricles are a well-known complication of neonatal meningitis secondary to gram-negative bacteria. Their presence often hampers the proper functioning of the multiple shunts required for draining the ventricles. To determine whether the associated hydrocephalus may contribute to the development of the ventricular septa, we analyzed the histological structure of the ventricular wall and of the ventricular septa of a child who died as a consequence of Escherichia coli meningitis and unilateral hydrocephalus. Our results show that the ventricular septa are formed by glial protrusion into the ventricles. The ependymal wall of the grossly dilated ventricle was disrupted, but not that of the contralateral ventricle. We hypothesize that the presence of an insufficiently controlled hydrocephalus may have been one of the factors that induced the formation of the septa. It is suggested that an external ventricular derivation should be used during the active phase of the infection.