Intracranial hemorrhage in neonates with erythroblastosis fetalis: sonographic and CT findings

Cranial sonography revealed cerebral hemorrhage in three of seven neonates with erythroblastosis fetalis. Among the three infants with hemorrhage, one was 28 weeks gestational age and experienced germinal matrix hemorrhage with ventricular extension, a finding typical of cerebroventricular hemorrhage in the premature population. The other two infants with intracranial hemorrhage were more gestationally mature, and extensive intraparenchymal cerebral hemorrhages were found at sonography. These hematomas were peripheral in location and one was multifocal. Computed tomography (CT) further revealed hemorrhages in both neonates to be multifocal and in close proximity to the pia-arachnoid. In one case, the hemorrhage appeared to extend centripetally and rupture into the ventricular system. The high incidence, severity, and unusual appearance of intracranial hemorrhages in neonates with erythroblastosis fetalis has not been previously emphasized in the radiologic literature. In severe cases, children with erythroblastosis fetalis should be closely observed for intracranial hemorrhage by either sonography or CT, regardless of gestational age.