Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.
The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.
Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Pediatric hydrocephalus" and "Society guideline links: Microcephaly".)
International
●Diagnosis and treatment of Chiari malformation and syringomyelia in adults – International consensus document (2021)
●Diagnosis and treatment of Chiari malformation type 1 in children – The international consensus document (2021)
●International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG): Practice guidelines on sonographic examination of the fetal central nervous system. Part 2 – Performance of targeted neurosonography, update (2021)
●World Association of Perinatal Medicine (WAPM): Practice guidelines for fetal central nervous system examination (2021)
●ISUOG: Practice guidelines on sonographic examination of the fetal central nervous system. Part 1 – Performance of screening examination and indications for targeted neurosonography, update (2020)
●World Health Organization (WHO): Guideline – Optimal serum and red blood cell folate concentrations in women of reproductive age for prevention of neural tube defects (2015)
Canada
●Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS): Position statement on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors in pregnancy – Infant and childhood outcomes (2021)
●Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC): Clinical practice guideline on prevention, screening, diagnosis, and pregnancy management for fetal neural tube defects (2021)
●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't do routine surveillance imaging for incidentally discovered Chiari I malformation without syringomyelia (2020)
●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't image a midline dimple related to the coccyx in an asymptomatic infant or child (2020)
●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't treat women of childbearing potential with Valproic acid if other effective treatments are available (2019)
●CPS: Position statement on folate and neural tube defects – The role of supplements and food fortification (2016)
●SOGC: Clinical practice guideline on pre-conception folic acid and multivitamin supplementation for the primary and secondary prevention of neural tube defects and other folic acid-sensitive congenital anomalies (2015)
United States
●American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Clinical report on pain assessment and treatment in children with significant impairment of the central nervous system (2017, reaffirmed 2022)
●American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM): Committee opinion on maternal-fetal surgery for myelomeningocele (2017, reaffirmed 2022)
●American College of Radiology (ACR)-American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM)-Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR)-Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU): Practice parameter for the performance of an ultrasound examination of the neonatal and infant spine (revised 2021)
●AIUM: Practice parameter for the performance of detailed diagnostic obstetric ultrasound examinations between 12 weeks 0 days and 13 weeks 6 days (2021)
●AAP: Clinical report on promoting optimal development – Identifying infants and young children with developmental disorders through developmental surveillance and screening (2020)
●American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG): Technical standard on laboratory screening and diagnosis of open neural tube defects, 2019 revision (published 2020)
●ACOG and AAP: Committee opinion on maternal-fetal intervention and fetal care centers (2011, reaffirmed 2020)
●ACR: ACR Appropriateness Criteria on second and third trimester screening for fetal anomaly (2020)
●AIUM: Practice parameter for the performance of neurosonography in neonates and infants (2020)
●SMFM: Fetal anomalies consult series on intracranial anomalies (2020)
●AAP: Clinical report on providing a primary care medical home for children and youth with spina bifida (2011, reaffirmed 2019)
●Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS): Systematic review and evidence-based guideline on closure of myelomeningocele within 48 hours to decrease infection risk (2019)
●CNS: Systematic review and evidence-based guideline on the incidence of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus in infants with myelomeningocele after prenatal versus postnatal repair (2019)
●CNS: Systematic review and evidence-based guideline on the incidence of tethered cord syndrome in infants with myelomeningocele with prenatal versus postnatal repair (2019)
●CNS: Systematic review and evidence-based guideline on the management of patients with myelomeningocele – Whether persistent ventriculomegaly adversely impacts neurocognitive development (2019)
●CNS: Systematic review and evidence-based guideline on the management of patients with myelomeningocele – Whether prenatal or postnatal closure affects future ambulatory status (2019)
●AIUM-ACR-ACOG-SMFM-SRU: Practice parameter for the performance of standard diagnostic obstetric ultrasound examinations (2018)
●SMFM: Consult series on mild fetal ventriculomegaly – Diagnosis, evaluation, and management (2018)
●Spina Bifida Association (SBA): Guidelines for the care of people with spina bifida, 4th edition (2018)
●Teratology Society (TS): Position statement on surveillance and prevalence estimation of neural tube defects (2018)
●AAP: Clinical report on home care of children and youth with complex health care needs and technology dependencies (2012, reaffirmed 2017)
●ACOG: Practice bulletin on neural tube defects (2017)
●US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF): Final recommendation statement – Folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects: Preventive medication (2017)
●AAP: Clinical report on congenital brain and spinal cord malformations and their associated cutaneous markers (2015)
●AAP: Policy statement on referral to pediatric surgical specialists (2014)
●ACMG: Policy statement on folic acid and neural tube defects (2011)
●ACMG: Screening for fetal aneuploidy and neural tube defects (2009)
United Kingdom
●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Interventional procedures guidance on fetoscopic prenatal repair for open neural tube defects in the fetus (2020)
●NICE: Interventional procedures guidance on open prenatal repair for open neural tube defects in the fetus (2020)
Japan
●[In Japanese] Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG): Obstetrics and gynecology clinical practice guidelines – Obstetrics edition (2023)
●[In English] JSOG and Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (JAOG): Guidelines for obstetrical practice in Japan, 2020 edition (published 2023)
