Clinical and imaging features of 27 cases of childhood Sturge-Weber syndrome / 中华皮肤科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze clinical and imaging features of Sturge-Weber syndrome in children.Methods:Clinical data were collected from 27 children with Sturge-Weber syndrome in Xuzhou Children′s Hospital, Xuzhou Medical University from July 2013 to December 2019, and analyzed retrospectively.Results:Among the 27 children, 17 were males and 10 were females. Their age at the clinic visit ranged from 2 days to 10 years and 7 months, and averaged 2.54 years. All the 27 patients presented with facial port-wine stains of varied color from light red to purple red, which were all distributed across the facial midline, including 21 with predominantly unilateral port-wine stains and 6 with bilateral symmetrical port-wine stains. There were 17 patients with ocular choroidal vascular malformations, including 14 with congenital glaucoma, 5 with high intraocular pressure, and 1 with optic nerve atrophy accompanied by transient blindness. Neurological impairment occurred in 12 patients, and all manifested as epilepsy. All the 27 children underwent imaging examination, and abnormalities were found in 20. Among the 10 patients with abnormal computed tomography images, local calcification was observed in 8, and local thickening of the skull on the side affected by skin lesions in 8; 13 of 14 patients with abnormal magnetic resonance imaging scan results had signs of brain atrophy, 9 showed enhanced gyrus-like blood vessel formation by enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, and 5 showed decreased branches of the anterior and middle cerebral artery on the affected facial side by magnetic resonance angiography.Conclusions:Children with Sturge-Weber syndrome are clinically characterized by predominantly unilateral port wine stains on the face, some of whom are accompanied by epilepsy, glaucoma or mental retardation, and imaging examinations mainly show local calcification, brain atrophy, local thickening of the skull plate, enhanced gyrus-like blood vessel formation, etc. Early definite diagnosis and comprehensive systemic treatment are needed to reduce disability and mortality rates in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome, and long-term follow-up should be considered.