These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Retinal haemorrhages in a university hospital: not always abusive head injury.
    Author: Mattheij M, Venstermans C, de Veuster I, Vanderstraete I, Menovsky T, Jorens P, Ceulemans B.
    Journal: Acta Neurol Belg; 2017 Jun; 117(2):515-522. PubMed ID: 28160241.
    Abstract:
    Retinal haemorrhages (RH) and subdural haematomas (SDH) are frequently seen in abusive head trauma (AHT). The aim of our study is to show that they are suggestive, but not pathognomonic for AHT. We performed an observational retrospective study on children, aged 1-18 months old, admitted to the Antwerp University Hospital with RH. History, physical examination, medical course, coagulation and metabolic tests, skeletal survey, head circumference, retinal findings, cerebral imaging, and evaluation reports by social services or civil/criminal courts were collected. Twenty-nine children with RH were included. Twenty three of them were found suspect of AHT. Three children of this group showed intraparenchymal haematomas/infarctions, 5 interhemispheric blood, 6 cerebral oedema, 7 ventricle compression, and 4 papilloedema. Seven of the 16 children with diffusion-weighted MRI images showed diffuse lesions. In 2 of the 6 children not suspect for AHT, an aetiology was found. None of the 4 remaining children showed the above-mentioned abnormalities. Three of these 4 cases showed an accelerated growth of the head circumference months before presentation. The majority of the children in all groups showed 'too numerous to count' (>20) RH (12 of the 23 'suspect' children, and 4 of the 6 'non-suspect' children). Results showed no differences between the groups concerning the location, distribution, or size of the RH. Infants with RH and/or SDH are not necessarily victims of AHT. Cerebral imaging and retinal findings can help differentiate suspect from non-suspect cases. Infants with a large head circumference could be predisposed to RH or SDH.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]