Is the slit ventricle syndrome always a slit ventricle syndrome?

The term 'slit ventricle syndrome' (SVS) refers to the occurrence of headache, vomiting, and possibly some degree of consciousness impairment in shunted hydrocephalic children in whom slit-like ventricles are seen on computerized tomography (CT) scan examination. The syndrome has been typically observed in older hydrocephalic children operated on in early infancy, even though it has also been observed occasionally in young children and adults. The clinical characteristics of the SVS, the results of the laboratory investigations and the therapeutic measures utilized in the various cases described in the literature differ so widely as to suggest that different clinical conditions are actually being described. In some cases, the diagnosis of SVS should be avoided and substituted by a correct diagnosis of CSF shunt malfunction or of disturbances unrelated to the CSF shunting therapy, e.g., childhood migraine.