title: Air emboli in the intracranial venous sinuses of neonates.
abstract: Air bubbles in the intracranial venous sinuses are known as a consequence to different causes including trauma, infection, and administration of intravenous contrast. Most of the previous reports demonstrated such cases in adults, with subsequent complications. We are presenting two premature babies who developed asymptomatic air bubbles in the right cavernous and left transverse sinuses, introduced accidentally upon cannulation of scalp veins. In both babies the air embolism disappeared in a few days without complications. Our cases suggest that these accidents could happen more frequently in neonates following scalp vein cannulation, which is a common procedure in sick babies, but they were overlooked as the outcome was uneventful. However, the precise nature and clinical significance of this lesion is not well understood in neonates.
authors.affiliation: Neonatology Division, Department of Pediatrics, King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Al-Hathlol
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Al-Mane
authors.forename: Muneef
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Hathal
authors.forename: Khalil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Al-Tawil
authors.forename: Bdair
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abulaimoun
mesh_terms: D002404:Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003392:Cranial Sinuses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004618:Embolism, Air / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011859:Radiography; D012535:Scalp / Q000098:blood supply*