Neonatal Seizures, Intracerebral Hematoma, and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Full-Term Infants

Abstract

During the first days of life intracranial hemorrhage is a frequent cause of convulsions in the full-term infant.1,2 If spinal fluid is bloody and there is no evidence of asphyxia, infection, or acute metabolic disease, then a presumptive diagnosis of primary subarachnoid hemorrhage is often made.1-3 These infants appear remarkably well in the interictal period, and their outcome is usually good.1,2 Since pathologic confirmation is not available, it has been assumed that bleeding occurs directly into the subarachnoid space and not as an extension of a subdural, intraventricular, or intracerebellar hemorrhage.1,3-5 During a 13-month period at our institution, only four full-term infants had seizures and bloody spinal fluid.