Clinical Presentation of Chiari I Malformation and Syringomyelia in Children.

Chiari I malformation and syringomyelia may be associated with a wide spectrum of symptoms and signs in children. Clinical presentations vary based on patient age and relative frequency; some diagnoses represent incidental radiographic findings. Occipitocervical pain, propagated or intensified by Valsalva maneuvers (or generalized irritability in younger patients unable to communicate verbally), and syringomyelia with or without scoliosis are the most common clinical presentations. Cranial nerve or brainstem dysfunction also may be observed in younger patients, and is associated with more complex deformity that includes ventral compression secondary to basilar invagination, retroflexion of the dens, and/or craniocervical instability.