Insights

Coarctation of the aorta presenting as cerebral hemorrhage

Intracranial hemorrhage in the neonatal period is an important clinical problem. Its importance relates to a relatively high frequency of occurrence, accompanied at times by serious neurological sequelae. Over the last decade there have been changes in the relative frequency of intracranial hemorrhage owing to changes in obstetric practice, such as increased vacuum-assisted delivery and reduced rotational forceps, as well as the improved survival of preterm infants with complex intracranial hemorrhagic lesions. Moreover, systematic neuroimaging studies in otherwise asymptomatic term infants have led to a new awareness of the incidence of more clinically benign forms of intracranial hemorrhage. In this chapter, an overview of neonatal intracranial hemorrhage and the basic elements of recognition are presented. Detailed discussion is devoted to subdural hemorrhage, primary subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage of the full-term infant, and certain unusual, miscellaneous examples of neonatal intracranial hemorrhage.