Raised ICP in vomiting child (crossing head-circumference percentiles)
HIGH-YIELD
Appears 1×
Teaching point — how the wording changes the answer
A child with chronic vomiting whose head circumference is crossing UP percentiles signals raised intracranial pressure (e.g. hydrocephalus or a space-occupying lesion), not gastroenteritis. Image the brain with CT to look for the cause.
Q1
Child with months of worsening vomiting, normal exam, and a rising head-circumference percentile on the growth chart; best next investigation?
Key clue
Rising HC percentile + vomiting without diarrhoea = raised ICP, not gut pathology
Show answer
CT brain