Primarily infected cephalhematoma and osteomyelitis in a newborn

Cephalhematomas are subperiosteal blood collections occurring in newborns secondary to trauma at birth. They develop within a few days and are subsequently resorbed. Infection of a cephalhematoma is unusual and caused most often by colonization of the hematoma during bacteremia or by direct inoculation secondary to trauma. Less than 10 patients with primary infection of the hematoma, in the absence of a positive blood culture, complicated by osteomyelitis have been described. We report a newborn with a primarily infected cephalhematoma complicated by parietal bone osteomyelitis.