Adrenal haemorrhage presenting as an abdominal mass in the newborn

Adrenal haemorrhage in the newborn, an entity well recognized at autopsy and as a cause of massive haemorrhage, may present as an asymptomatic abdominal mass. Three cases of neonatal adrenal haemorrhage are described and the literature is reviewed. Most of the affected babies were of normal birthweight, full term and with no history of difficult delivery or neonatal asphyxia. Most presented with a flank mass and jaundice. The haemoglobin was not always low. Intravenous urography and sonography were the investigations of choice. The most serious condition in the differential diagnosis is neuroblastoma, but the chance of this presenting in the newborn period with normal catecholamine secretion and no evident metastases is sufficiently rare to justify expectant management. Follow-up physical examination and repeat sonography at 1 month are recommended. This interval is long enough to allow resolution of a mass caused by adrenal haemorrhage.