Benign intracranial hypertension: a cause of CSF rhinorrhoea

Four patients undergoing treatment for benign intracranial hypertension presented with spontaneous CSF rhinorrhoea. The four patients, all women, were aged between 33 and 44 years. They had been receiving treatment for benign intracranial hypertension for a period ranging from eight months to 11 years, before developing the CSF leak. There was no history of previous head injury and there were no congenital anomalies of the floor of the anterior fossa. The site of the CSF fistula was localised to the cribriform plate in all four cases. The pathophysiology of the CSF rhinorrhoea and the surgical management of this group of patients are discussed. The authors propose that benign intracranial hypertension should be included in the classification of high pressure CSF leaks.