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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

A Modified Sonographic Algorithm for Image Acquisition in Life-Threatening Emergencies in the Critically Ill Newborn
Published on: April 7, 2023
Thalamic infarct presenting as apparent life-threatening event in infants
Sachin Gupta1, Daphin Fernandez, Ata Siddiqui
1Department of Paediatric Neurology, Evelina Children's Hospital at Guys and St Thomas' Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Unlabelled:
Thalamic infarction with distinct manifestations is well-described in adults but less well-delineated in children. We report two infants who presented with an apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) with very early magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrating a unilateral thalamic infarction. Subsequent MRI demonstrated bilateral changes in the brain stem and basal ganglia, which were in keeping with profound hypoxic ischaemic injury. We propose the thalamic infarction to be the primary event precipitating a profound hypoxic ischaemic injury as an alternative explanation to the neuroimaging observation.
Conclusion:
Thalamic infraction may have a causal role in ALTE. Early and appropriate neuroimaging is required to detect these changes.
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