Obstructive sleep apnea leading to increased intracranial pressure in a patient with hydrocephalus and syringomyelia.

Rises in intracranial pressure from normal baseline values up to 50 cm H2O occurred shortly after the onset of obstructive sleep apnea in a patient with myelomeningocele, hydrocephalus, Arnold-Chiari malformation, and syringomyelia. Tonsillar hypertrophy caused the airway obstruction during sleep, because the obstructive sleep apnea and also the periodic elevation of intracranial pressure disappeared after tonsillectomy. Only one report from Japan has previously described three patients with elevated cerebrospinal fluid pressures during obstructive sleep apnea. It is conceivable that episodic airway obstruction and concurrent intracranial hypertension may have contributed to the development of syringomyelia in our patient.