Fetal intracranial injuries following motor vehicle accidents with airbag deployment.

The effects of airbag deployment in motor vehicle accidents (MVA) on the fetus are poorly understood. A 22-year-old woman at 24 weeks of gestation collided with a telephone pole while driving. She was restrained and an airbag deployed. Although she had no major injuries, she experienced decreased fetal movements. Fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring revealed loss of variability without any evidence of abruptio placentae, and 4 days later, the variability spontaneously recovered. Two weeks after the MVA, ultrasonography showed unilateral ventricular dilatation suggestive of fetal brain injury. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed subdural hematoma, intraventricular hemorrhage and cystic lesions, interpreted as indirect (hypoxic-ischemic) and direct (hemorrhagic) intracranial injuries. After MVA with airbag deployment, FHR monitoring can show a transient loss of variability, which may precede the appearance of fetal brain injury.