Cameron A Elliott1, Vijay Ramaswamy2, Francois D Jacob3, Tejas Sankar1, Vivek Mehta4. 1. Division of Neurosurgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 2. Division of Hematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 3. Division of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 4. Division of Neurosurgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Vivek.Mehta@albertahealthservices.ca.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of infant morbidity and mortality. In these patients, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is the test of choice to describe the extent of microstructural injury. CASE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION: In this case series, we describe novel acute and chronic MRI findings in four infants (6-19 months) with small, unilateral subdural hematomas in whom the etiology of head injury was suspicious for non-accidental trauma (NAT). Acute (<1-week post-injury) DWI revealed extensive areas of restricted diffusion isolated to the cerebral white matter predominantly ipsilateral to the subdural hematoma. After prolonged pediatric intensive care treatment including subdural evacuation (n = 2) or decompressive craniectomy (n = 1), all patients survived albeit with significant motor and cognitive deficits. Delayed structural MRI (6-9-year post-injury) demonstrated cortical and subcortical atrophy well-correlated with areas of acute restricted diffusion. CONCLUSION: These four cases highlight that relatively small subdural hematomas can be associated with extensive white matter injury-detectable only by early DWI-which have long-term structural and functional consequences.
BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of infant morbidity and mortality. In these patients, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is the test of choice to describe the extent of microstructural injury. CASE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION: In this case series, we describe novel acute and chronic MRI findings in four infants (6-19 months) with small, unilateral subdural hematomas in whom the etiology of head injury was suspicious for non-accidental trauma (NAT). Acute (<1-week post-injury) DWI revealed extensive areas of restricted diffusion isolated to the cerebral white matter predominantly ipsilateral to the subdural hematoma. After prolonged pediatric intensive care treatment including subdural evacuation (n = 2) or decompressive craniectomy (n = 1), all patients survived albeit with significant motor and cognitive deficits. Delayed structural MRI (6-9-year post-injury) demonstrated cortical and subcortical atrophy well-correlated with areas of acute restricted diffusion. CONCLUSION: These four cases highlight that relatively small subdural hematomas can be associated with extensive white matter injury-detectable only by early DWI-which have long-term structural and functional consequences.
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