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Infant life-threatening accidental head injury from 45 cm fall causing traumatic dissecting aneurysm and delayed
Catherine Skellern1, Michael Stuart2
1Child Protection and Forensic Medicine Service, Queensland Childrens Hospital, 501 Stanley St, South Brisbane, 4101, Queensland, Australia; University of Queensland, The University of Queensland, Jd Story Bldg, 342 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, Queensland, 4067, Australia.
Insights
Infant falls from furniture are common, but serious injuries are rare. This case highlights occipital-cervical distraction from a short fall, causing a rare cerebrovascular injury requiring timely recognition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Forensic Pathology
- Neurology
Background:
- Short falls from furniture are a frequent reason for infant emergency department visits.
- Serious injuries or fatalities from such falls in infants under 12 months are exceptionally rare.
Abstract:
Whilst short falls within the home are a common cause for infants under 12 months to present to hospital emergency departments, serious injuries or fatalities are exceptionally rare. Forensic evaluation of injuries is essential and considers a range of factors ascertained from investigation of the circumstances alongside findings from medical evaluations to consider injury plausibility. We report a case of a rare mechanism involving occipital-cervical distraction causing cerebrovascular dissection of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery and delayed rebleeding following a verified short distance fall of 45 cm from a sofa to highlight factors that assist in timely recognition of this injury which can be life-threatening or even fatal if overlooked.
