Cavum septum pellucidum, prevalence of the anatomical anomaly in clinical neurology practice.

INTRODUCTION: Cavum Septum Pellucidum (CSP) is an anomaly with varied presence among normal adults (1% − 85%). The structure is observed in various neurological conditions like epilepsy, cerebro vascular accidents (CVA), persistent headache. This study is conducted to assess its prevalence among those with neurological symptoms and its association with neurological diseases. METHODS: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among the adults with common neurological complaints was conducted at a multi-disciplinary tertiary care hospital and Computerised Tomography (CT) scans of the brain of 911 patients were studied by consecutive sampling method. Data entry was performed and SPSS was used for statistical analysis. Analytical tests like Chi square test, Independent samples t test, Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis H test were performed. RESULTS: The mean age of the study participants was 44.09 ± 22.11 years, with a male predominance. The mean age was found to be higher among the CVA patients than the normal subjects and whereas it was lower in the epileptics. Participants with CSP were found to be older (mean age- 50.35 ± 19.15 years), with no association with gender. The prevalence of CSP was higher among those with neurological diseases (Epilepsy – 5.4%, vs. CVA – 13.9%, vs. Normal-3.3%, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Increased distribution of neurological diseases in the presence of CSP and the increased prevalence of CSP in the neurological patients suggest the potential of the defect as an indicator for various neurological diseases.