Ethmoidal meningoencephalocele and CSF leak after posthaemorrhagic ventricular dilatation in a newborn child.

Background Rhinoliquorrhoea suggests a communication between the subarachnoid space and the sinonasal tract. Clinical presentation includes clear nasal discharge, headache, pneumocephalus, meningitis or brain abscess. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are mostly of traumatic origin (skull base fractures), iatrogenic (secondary to endoscopic endonasal surgery) or associated with tumour aetiology. Occasionally, hydrocephalus has been the cause of rhinoliquorrhoea in adults, presumably secondary to the chronically raised intracranial pressure with skull base erosion and meningocele. To our knowledge, the association of hydrocephalus and ethmoid meningoencephalocele/CSF leak has not been previously reported in a newborn child.