Fetal intracranial injuries in a preterm infant after maternal motor vehicle accident: a case report.
OBJECTIVE
To present a case of fetal intracranial injuries in a preterm infant after maternal motor vehicle accident and to review the relevant literature.


METHODS
Case report.


METHODS
Neonatal and pediatric intensive care unit of a children's hospital.


METHODS
Preterm infant (gestational age, 30-6/7 wks) with intracranial injuries after maternal motor vehicle accident.


RESULTS
Whereas the mother had only a closed femur fracture, her infant sustained subdural, subarachnoid, and intracerebral hemorrhages in the left parietal and temporal lobes most likely attributable to direct fetal trauma. Massive fetomaternal hemorrhage may have led additionally to hypoxia-ischemia contributing indirectly to the injury. At the last follow-up visit (chronological age, 20 months; corrected age, 18 months), there was evidence of a persistent right-sided hemiparesis in an otherwise normally developed infant.


CONCLUSIONS
Motor vehicle accidents during pregnancy can be associated with fetal mortality and significant morbidity, even in the absence of severe maternal injuries. Direct (hemorrhagic) and indirect (hypoxic-ischemic) intracranial injuries should be actively sought with appropriate imaging studies.
Hagmann
Cornelia F
CF
Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Children's Hospital of Lucerne, Switzerland.
Schmitt-Mechelke
Thomas
T
Caduff
Jürg H
JH
Berger
Thomas M
TM
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D049188:Prenatal Injuries; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal